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Germany  Illustrated 


WITH  PEN  AND   PENCIL 


RY 

SAMUEL  G.  GREEN,  D.  D.,  and  Prof.  E  P.  THWING,  Ph.  D 


NEW    YORK: 

HURST   &  COMPANY,   Publishers, 

134-136  Grand  Street. 


Copyright,  s8§2> 

BT 

HURST    &    COMPANYo 


ARGTLE   r-RESri, 

Book  Ilanufactnrers, 

265-267  Cherry  tt.    N    T 


J 


THE    AiM.MERSEE  ;     IN    THE    BAVARIAN    HIGHLANDS. 


PREFACE. 


THE  following  passes  are  a  memorial  of  several  journeys;  and  especially  of  one 
extended  tour  through  the  north  and  south  of  the  German  Fatherland.  In 
so  vast  a  circuit,  much  was  of  necessity  rapidly  passed  over,  or  altogether  omitted  ; 
but  visits  were  paid  to  the  places  of  chief  historical  interest,  as  well  as  to  other 
localities,  especially  in  the  South,  comparatively  little  known  in  England,  but  of  the 
highest  attractiveness  and  beauty. 

A  tour  in  Germany  is  now  rendered  easy  by  its  admirable  railway  system  ;  the 
oUI  mone_\-  complications  have  been  replaced,  at  least  in  the  new  Empire,  by  a  simple 
and  intelligible  coinage;  the  accommodation  provided  for  the  traveler  in  almost 
every  town  is  sufficient  for  all  but  the  unreasonably  exacting  ;  and  the  journey  can 
hardly  fail  to  be  full  of  charm,  alike  to  the  lover  of  the  picturesque,  to  the  anti- 
quary, and  to  those  who  chiefly  delight  to  follow  in  the  track  of  historic  memories 
ami  noble  names.  Something  of  this  varied  interest  it  is  hopeil  will  be  found  in  the 
descriptions  and  illustrations  of  the  present  volume. 

Nor  can  the  thoughtful  observer  fail  to  be  attracted  by  the  outward  signs  that 
tell  of  the  present  condition  and  the  prospects  of  the  Fatherland,  in  its  two  great 
Empires,  and  their  connected  kingdoms  and  principalities.  In  Germany,  the  great- 
est problems  of  our  time,  social,  political,  ami  religious,  are  being  discussed  with  a 
fullness  and  earnestness  which  tell  upon  the  life  of  all  civilized  nations.  The  signs 
of  this  growth  and  conflict  of  thought  appear  everywhere,  and  the  issues  bid  fair  to 

5 


■3058090 


PREFACE. 

be  more  lasting  than  the  effects  of  that  imposing  militarism  which,  since  the  wars 
of  1866  and  1870,  has  seemed  to  dominate  every  German  state  and  city.  Amid 
all  these  influences,  the  power  of  evangelical  Protestant  teaching  is  steadily  and 
silently  growing  ;  and  if  the  plan  of  this  work  had  so  allowed,  it  would  have  been  a 
pleasant  task  to  show  how,  in  various  directions,  especially  by  Bible  distribution, 
Sunday-school  teaching,  and  the  diffusion  of  healthful  Christian  literature,  many 
devoted  laborers,  both  native  and  foreign,  are  carrying  on  among  the  people  the 
work  which  men  like  Tholuck  and  Delitzsch  have  so  nobly  performed  in  connection 
with  the  highest  culture  of  the  land. 


GUTEN13EKG. 


CONTENTS. 


'-•^^ 


Pakt  of  the  Dachstein  Range— Austrian  Alis. 
The  Ammersee,  in  the  Bavarian  Highlands, 

Gi;tenhekg, 

Bregenz — the  Gebhardsberg,  with  Lake  of  Constance, 


Frontispiece 

•  5 
6 

•  7 


I'ACiE 

Freiburg  in  Breisgau  (.frontispiece)^ lo 

Coblcnz  and  Ehrenbrcitstcin ii 

Dracheiifels,  from  Rolundscck,        .         .         .         .         .         ■  ^2 

Summit  of  DrachcnfcU, 13 

Uonn,          . 14 

'•  Cat  "  and  **  Mouse  "  Towers 15 

St.  Goar  and  the  Rhcinicls  in  the  Seventeenth  Century.       .  16 

On  the  MoscI, »8 

Kaiz  Castle,  St.  Goar, 19 

Bacharach  (5«a^/ Wr*!^, 20 

Oberwesel — The  Ochscnihurm, 22 

Riidcshcim  and  ihe  liingerloch, 23 

Mayence— Thorwald-en's  Statue  of  Gutenberg,    ...  24 

Mayencc  Calhcdr,.! 25 

Worms 26 


PACS 

Cathedral.  Worms 27 

Worms — The  Kaisersaal  {luiperiai  Ifail) '--9 

Luther  Monument,  Worms 30 

Heidelberg  Bridge, 31 

Heidelberg  Castle 34 

Gingcnbach.  A  P.lack  Forest  Village, 35 

The  Black  Forest  Railway, 37 

A  Black  Forest  Timber  Raft, 38 

Source  of  the  Danube,          ........  39 

Brcisach  on  the  Rhine,  near  Freiburg 40 

Glen  and  Cascade  near  Allcrhciligcn  ;  Black  I'oresi,         .         .  42 

The  Hullcnth.i! 43 

At  Allerheillgen, 44 

Ruins  of  Allerheiligen— Winter 46 

Beethoven's  House,  Bonn 47 


G^i<iM^.^3^^  0^  Xo'iiTHijr^V  G^FjIiM^^Y. 


page 

•    so 

5» 


Dresden  (frontispiece) 

Eruniwick— The  Old  Market, 

Heligolandj 53 

Canal  at  Hamburg, 53 

Hamburg  Market  Woman, 54 

Lubeck — The  Markei-placc,  with  St.  Mary's  Church  and  the 

Town  Hall 56 

Lubeck— The  Holstcin  Gate, 57 

Rostock— The  Stcintbor 58 

Rostock— Old  Fortifications,  Gate  and  Tower,        ...  60 

The  Rat-catcher's  House,  Hamcln 61 


page 

62 


Street  in  Hanover, 

Hildeshcim— Old  Gate-house 63 

Hildcshcini— Cathedral  Crypt  and  Old  Rose  Tree,        .         .  64 

Berlin— The  Goose   Market, (J6 

Uerlin— Statue  of  Frederick  the  Great, 67 

Country  School  on  the  Kivcr  Spree, 70 

Palace  of  the  Crown  Prince,  Berlin 72 

Monument  of  Victory,  Thiergarten,  Berlin 74 

The  Palace,  Potvlam 76 

Wittenberg— Market-place,   with    Luther    and    Mclanchthon 

Statues, 77 

7 


C0N7'£NTS. 


PAGE 

Luther's  Room,  Wittenberg, 78 

Augusiinian  Monaster>'.  Wittenberg 79 

Rathhaus,  Leipsic ^ 

Leipsic— Christmas-tree  Market  in  the  Augustus  Platz,         .  82 

Leipsic— St.  Nicholas  Church 83 

Meissen— Cathedral  and  Albert's  Tower 86 


PAGE 

Dresden- Entrance  to  the  Zwinger,  and  the  Statue  of  Fred- 

cri(.k  Augustus, 87 

Dresden— Bridge  over  the  Elbe, 83 

Dresden— The  Zwinger  ;  Interior  View, 90 

Dresden — The  Pavilion,  Zwinger, 91 

Saxon  Switzerland- The  Prebischthor,;a  Colossal  Natural  Arch,  92 


f^i^^au"^  "to  jWKiOB,  By  YiEXK^. 


Vienna  -St.  Stephen's  Cathedral  K/rontispiecc). 

View  from  the  Carlsbriicke,  Prague. 

Prague, 


Prague— Statue  of  Charles  IV,       .... 
House  in  which  John  Hus  was  born  (at  Hussinetz), 
The  Teynkirche  (Old  Hussite  Church).  Prague, 

Briinn, 

Vienna,  from  the  Upper  Terrace,  Belvedere  Palace, 
Street  in  Vienna— Wall  Announcements,  . 

Der  Graben,  Vienna, 

Votif-Kirche,  Vienna — Interior,         .... 

Vienna— Votif-Kirche, 

At  Schonbrunn,  near  Vienna, 


I' AGE 

9-I 
95 
93 
99 
lot 
102 
103 
104 
106 
ro; 
110 
ni 
112 


Vienna— The  Jews'  Quarter 

Salzburg  Castle, 

Munich— The  '*  Bavaria"  and  the  Hall  of  lame, 
Ravine  in  the  Pongau  Valley,  Salzburg  Alps, 
liavarian  Highlands — The  Early  Start,     . 
Bavarian  Highland  Costumes,        .         .         .         . 
The  Chiemsee  — Between  Salzburg  and  Munich, 
The  Bavarian  Highlands—"  Good  Night !  " 
The  Bavarian  Highlands — "Good  Morning  !  " 
The  Bavarian  Highlands— LTphill, 
The  Bavarian  Highlands — Downhill, 
(Jber-Ammergau,     .        ... 


PAGE 

114 

116 

ii3 
119 
120 
122 
123 

123 
124 

124 
123 


^'M,  TYiior,  ^K'D  "tM,  "^MttM  ^^^- 


Schloss  Sigmundskron,  near  Botzen  i/rontispiece), 

Schloss-Tirol ;  near  Meran 

St.  Christoph,  on  ihe  Arlberg  Route, 
Dolomite  Mountains — the  Drei  Ziniieii, 

Innsbruck.  ■         • 

Inhabitants  of  the  Higher  Alps 

Andrew  Hofer's  House  in  the  Passertl.al, 
Andrew  Hofer, 


PACE 

.       12S 

1-9 


132 
■      I  '3 

.  .         .      136 

U7 

Tomb  of  Maximilian, 118 

On  the  Finstermimz  Pass, 140 

Botzen 141 


PAGE 

Trient, 142 

The  Eggenthal,  southeast  of  B^ucn 143 

Tyrol — Country  Wagon, 144 

Taufers 


Bruneck 

Krimmler  Fall . 

Unierdrauburg  on  the  Drave.    ...... 

Klagenfurt — the  Dragon  Fountain,        .... 

In  the  Cavern  of  Adelsberg, 151 

On  the  Semmering  Railway,  ......         152 

Castle  of  Hohenschwangau,       .......     154 


140 
■47 
143 
149 
150 


^\\o}i  YiE^KK^,  o>[  ¥»£$  wi-^Y  ¥0  ¥H'JJ  l\\ii]\% 


I'AGE 

The  Gesause  Defile- Road,  Railway,  and  River  (^/rontispiect)^ 

156 
157 


Linz— on  the  Danube,     . 
Diirrenstcin  Castle  on  the  Danube, 
kathhaus — Brieg,  in  Silesia, 

Passau, 

Ausscc, 

Cimunden  and  the  'Irauiiscc,     . 
Ravine— Salzkammergut. 
The  Walhalla,  near  Ratisbon,    . 
Ratisbon  Cathedral, 


160 
161 
162 
164 
165 
1 66 
168 


PAGE 

Nuremberg — St.  Lawrence  Church, i6g 

Nuremberg — the  Schonebrunnen  and  Manen-Kirche,          .  170 

Nuremberg,  with  St.  Sebald's  Church  and  the  Castle,    .         .  172 

Nuremberg — Goose  Fountain, 174 

Nuremberg — St.  Sebald's  Tomb,        ......  176 

Statue  of  Hans  Sachs.  Nuremberg,        .....  177 

Statue  in  bronze  of  Albert  Diirer 178 

House  of  Nassau,  Nuremberg x3o 

Nuremberg — Albert  Diirer's  House, iSi 

Nuremberg— Diirer's  Tomb,  .......  181 


J^^^>[K5^Uf{¥,  %©  L(U¥Hi5f^'^  CoifX'i'iiY. 


I'AGR 

The  Wariburg-Castle  Court  (/rf»«^*.-/Vr().  •        .184 

Frankfurt, 1S5 

Frankfurt — Goethe's  Birthplace .  187 

Statues  of  Goethe  and  Schiller  at  Weimar 1S8 

Frankfurt,  Luther's  House, 189 

Frankfurt — Statue  of  Gutenberg igo 

Frankfurt— Jews'  Quarter, igi 

Speyer— The  Cathedral 192 

Luther  in  the  WartLurg  Cell 194 

Wilhelmshube 195 


On  the  Harz  Mountains— \A'inter 

Magdeburg — The  Bieiieweg.  .         .         .         .         . 

Magdeburg — Our  Lady's  Cloister,     .... 

Magdeburg — The  Cathetlral,  .         .         .         .         . 

Magdeburg — Cathedral  Pulpit,  .... 

Magdeburg — Interior  of  Cathedral 

Magdeburg,  ........ 

Magdeburg— Rathhaus  and  Monument  to  Otho  I, 
Aix-la-Chapelle  Cathedral — Throne  of  Charlemagne, 
Halle— The  Market-place 


PAGE 

ig6 
197 
198 
198 
199 

n9 
200 
201 


tKElliURG    IN    BKEISGAU. 


CUBLENZ    AND    EHRENBREITSTEIN. 


UP  THE  RHINE,  AND  INTO  GERMANY: 
THE  BLACK  FOREST. 


TOUR  in  Germany  naturally  begins  with  the  Rhine,  both  ns^ 
a  beautiful  entrance  into  the  "  Fatherland,"  and  as  an  imi)or- 
tant  key  to  its  history.  Other  rivers  of  Europe  may  be  more 
picturesque  ;  one,  at  least,  is  consiilerably  longer,  but  none  can 
compare  for  varied  interest  and  true  im[)ortance  with  the  Ijcau- 
tiful  Rhine — the  frontier  of  empire,  once  a  barrier  in  the  way 
of  all-conquering  Rome,  and  in  modern  times  the  prize  of  con- 
tendmg  nations.  Yet  surely  there  is  no  river  to  which  more  injustice  is 
done,  even  Ijy  those  who  take  long  ji>urne)'s  professedly  to  explore  its 
beauties.  "Up  the  Rhine"  means,  to  thousantls  of  travelers,  nothing 
more  than  a  day  in  a  swift,  luxurious  steamboat,  where  the  dinner-bell,  perhaps,  rings 
just  when  the  scenery  on  the  banks  opens  out  to  its  most  exquisite  loveliness  ;  and,  as 
the  evening  draws  on,  the  passengers,  nearing  Bingen  or  Mayence,  exclaim.  Is  tliis 
all?  and  close  their  Miirrays  and  Bccdckcrs  in  disapi)oint(-d  resentment.  Again  and 
again  have  I  been  told  that  the  Hudson  is  a  far  finer  river  than  the  Rhine;  antl  as  to 
the  prospect  from  the  Drachenfels  :  "  Have  you  ever  been  on  the  Wind  Cliff  in  l\Ion- 
moiithshire,  or  even  seen  the  view  from  Richmond  Hill?"  Then  man)-  travelers, 
condescending  to  details,  will  criticist?  the  color  of  the  stream.  They  expected 
pellucid  waters,  reflecting  heaven's  deepest  blue;  and  the  Rhine -is  unquestionably 
grayish,  not  to  say  muddy,  in  its  tint.  Altogether,  the  crowd  who  have  "done  "  the 
Rhine  in  a  day — or  less,  if  their  route  has  lain  down  the  stream — will  complacently 
agree  that  the  famous  river  is  over-rated.      Its  beauties,  it  is  plain,  are  not  for  them  ! 


UP  THE  RHINE,  AND  INTO  GERMANY. 

To  understand  the  scenery  of  the  Rhine  it  is  necessary  to  linger  here  and  there  upon 
its  banks,  climbing  one  and  another  vine-clad  height,  scarcely  deserving  the  name  of 
mountain  ;  or,  better  still,  ascending  some  of  those  narrow  valleys  which  curve 
upward  from  the  margin  of  its  waters  to  fair  nooks  among  the  sheltering  hills. 
Enough,  perhaps,  has  been  said  of  the  ruined  castles  which  grimly  crown  the 
beetling  crags.  Are  not  their  names  in  Murray,  with  the  stories,  more  or  less 
authentic,   associated  with   their    robber-lords  ?     And  has  not   Byron,   in   a  few    im- 


DRACHENFELS,    FROM    ROLANDSECK. 


perishable  lines,  described,  in  a  manner  which  leaves  nothing  more  to  be  said  ? — those 


chiefless  castles  breathing  stern  farewells 
From  gray  but  leafy  walls,  where  Ruin  greenly  dwells. 
And  there  they  stand,  as  stands  a  lofty  mind, 
Worn,  but  unstooping  to  the  baser  crowd, 
All  tenaiitless,  save  to  the  crannying  wind, 
Or  holding  dark  communion  with  the  cloud. 
There  was  a  day  when  they  were  young  and  proud  ; 
Banners  on  high,  and  battles  passed  below  ; 
But  they  who  fought  are  in  a  bloody  shroud, 
And  those  which  waved  are  shredless  dust  ere  now, 
And  the  bleak  battlements  shall  bear  no  future  blow. 

Beneath  these  battlements,  within  those  walls, 
Power  dwelt  amidst  her  passions  ;  in  proud  state 
Each  robber  chief  upheld  his  armed  halls. 
Doing  his  evil  will. 


I  have  somewhere  seen  a  sketch  by  Thomas  Hood  (or  was  it  Thackeray?)  en- 


UP   THE  RHIXE,  AXD  IX TO  GERMAXY. 

titled,  Remmiscenccs  of  the  Rhine  ;  two  long  rows  of  peaked  hills  all  alike,  dwindling 
in  perspective,  a  river  between  them,  and  every  one  with  its  ruined  castle  perched 
upon  the  top.  It  was  a  quaint  embodiment  of  what  abides  as  the  chief  recollection 
of  many  tourists,  as  they  hurry  swiftly  by.  Yet  it  should  be  remembered  that  the 
dominion   of  the  knightly  robbers  was   after   all   but   a    mere    incident   in   the  long 


SUM^^T    OK    DRACHKNKELS. 


history  of  the  river.  Quaint,  weird,  ghastly  are  many  of  the  legends — much  play 
upon  the  words  Cat  and  Mouse  ;  though  originally,  I  suspect,  the  Alans  was  but  the 
toll  which  the  knightly  extortioners  used  to  levy — with  some  of  those  old  Crusading 
stories  which  make  the  heart  beat  high.  But  it  is  all  over  now  ;  the  predominance 
of  individual  oppressors  yielded  by  slow  and  certain  degrees  to  the  national  life. 

The  true  story  of  the  Rhine  belongs  not  to  robber  chieftains,  but  to  the  Empire, 
which  now,  for  good  or  evil,  holds  both  banks,  from  Basle  to  Cologne,  and  glories 
in  the  mighty  stream  as  pre-eminently  the  German  river. 

13 


UP  THE  RHINE,  AND  INTO  GERMANY. 

We  cannot  linger  over  the  romantic  part  of  the  Rhine,  which  has  been  described 
so  often  ;  still  less  do  we  care  to  tell,  or  to  hear  over  again,  the  tales  of  enchantment, 
which  so  sadly  lose  their  flavor  when  read  on  the  deck  of  the  steamboat,  or  in  the 
yet  more  comfortable  railway  carriage,  from  whose  windows  many  tourists  "  see  the 
Rhine,"  with  interruptions  of  tunnels  and  cuttings  !  The  Hcxcn  am  Rhcin  become 
only  meteorological  phenomena  ;  and  if  we  stay  to  listen  to  the  echoes  of  the  Lurlei, 
it  is  but  an  exemplification  of  acoustic  laws.  So  we  hurry  onward,  past  Bonn,  not 
stopping  this  time  even  to  visit  its  famed  University,  or  to  take  a  hasty  glance  at 
Beethoven's    birthplace  ;    past   the    Drachenfels   and    the    Seven    Mountains,   which 


number,  neither  more  nor  less,  we  again  vainly  try  to  make  out  ;  past  Neuwied 
with  its  famous  schools,  and  so  to  Coblenz  and  Ehrenbreitstein.  Hence,  had  there 
been  a  day  to  spare  in  our  upward  route,  we  should  probably  have  spent  it  on  the 
Moselle,  or,  as  we  must  now  call  it,  the  Mosel,  in  visit  to  quiet,  wonderful  Treves,  or 
Trier,  where  it  dozes  among  its  vineyards,  in  the  complacency,  of  a  calm,  not  un- 
attractive old  age.  Few  travelers  comparatively  turn  aside  to  see  this  old  Roman 
city — older,  as  it  claims  to  be,  than  Rome  herself."  Its  remains,  however,  are 
marvelously  interesting,  and  to  the  traveler  who  cannot  cross  the  Alps,  give  a  not 
inadequate  impression  of  the  Italian  classic  remains.  Chief  of  these  are  the  Porta 
Nigra,  the  older  amphitheater,  and  the  yet  more  ancient  bridge.  The  latter,  of 
which  the  massive  piers  remain  in  good  preservation,  is  mentioned  by  Tacitus,  and 
was  founded  in  the  time  of  Augustus,  some  few  years  before  the  Christian  era. 

'  "  Ante  Romam  Treviris  stetit  annis  MCCC."      Inscription  on  titf  old  To-.rnliall. 
U  . 


UP   THE  RHINE,  AND  INTO  GERMANY. 

But  we  cannot  linger  now  among  these  antique  memorials.  Returning  to  Cob- 
lenz,  we  have  our  choice  of  the  steamer  and  two  railways,  the  latter  being  carried 
along  both  banks,  very  near  the  river.  I  am  not  sure  but  that  sometimes  the  railway 
traveler  has  the  best  of  it,  notwithstanding  the  tunnels,  even  that  which  pierces  the 
heart  of  the  Lurlei  rock.  "  Commend  me,"  says  a  genial  traveler,  "  to  a  railway  for 
seeing  the  country.  I  cannot  sing  in  tune  with  those  who  cry  out  at  the  want  of  ro- 
mance in  a  railway.  Why,  Don  Quixote  never  conceived  any  such  wild  a  charge  as 
we  can  now  make  through  a  country  !  What  was  even  Pegasus  to  an  express  ?  If 
the  scenery  is  poor,  you  are  taken  from  it  as  soon  as  possible.  If  it  is  beautiful,  you 
are  charmed  with  a  quick  succession  of  fine  views.      By  no  ordinary  conveyance  can 


"cat"  and  "mouse"  towers. 


you  stop  long  enough  to  enjoy  the  deliberate  apprehension  of  a  landscape.  There 
are  two  ways  of  seeing  a  beautiful  country  :  one  by  a  sojourn,  or  at  least  a  pause  in 
some  particular  spot;  the  other  by  a  passage  through  it.  Now,  railway  traveling 
gets  you  fastest  from  one  resting-place  to  another,  and  so  adds  to  the  opportunities 
of  calm  exploration,  and  at  the  same  time  it  gives  you  ciuite  as  true  a  general  impres- 
sion of  the  charms  of  a  country  as  a  slower  mode  of  progress. 

"  Indeed,  I  think  it  heightens  them  ;  it  heaps  up  its  beauties  one  upon  another  so 
quickly  that  you  take  in  the  whole  as  a  whole.  Then,  again,  you  are  not  wedged 
among  a  number  of  hot,  foreign  fellow-travelers,  but  can  stretcli  your  legs  and  read 
your  guide-book,  if  you  will,  in  a  manner  impossible  to  the  passengers  by  diligence. 
You  see  rivers  and  valleys  from  viaducts  far  above  the  level  to  which  you  would  have 
descended  in  a  carriage  ;  you  are  presented  with  fresh  pictures  on  emerging  a  tun- 
nel ;  you  have  a  pleasant  air  on  the  hottest  days  ;  you  are  pestered  by  no  hangers-on 
for  tips  and  the  little  extortions  of  any  other  public  vehicle.    I  think  these  advantages 

•  15 


UP   THE  RHINE,  AND  INTO  GERMANY. 

of  railway  traveling-  may  be  well  appreciated  on  the  banks  of  the  Rhine.     You   are 
sometimes  nearly  on  a  level  with  the  river,  and  thus  get  much  the  same  view  as  from 
a  boat;    then  you  rise  higher  and  look  down  upon  it.      It  is  true  that  you  don't  get 
all  the  scenery  on  both  banks  ;  but  then  you  get  the  whole  breadth  of  the  stream." 
By  steamer  or  railway,  then,  for  we  have  tried  both,  we  pass  upward  to   Bingen 


ST.    GOAR    AND    THE    RHEINFELS    IN    THE    SEVENTEENTH    CENTURY.       [Fl  Ollt  a  dnm'illg .) 


with  a  regretful  gaze  as  we  glide  by,  into  the  exquisite  valley  of  the  Lahn,  where 
that  river  disappears  among  its  wooded  hills,  and  we  know  that  not  many  miles 
away  the  charming  health  resort  of  Ems  is  rich  in  all  the  loveliness  of  the  spring. 
For  the  pleasantest  of  drives  through  shady  groves,  and  the  delight  of  rambling 
over  breezy  hills  without  fatigue  of  hard  climbing,  this  pretty,  restful  watering-place 
is  unrivaled  ;  not  to  mention  its  beautiful  river,  which  alone  is  sufficient  to  give  it 
supremacy  among  "the  Brunnen  of  Nassau." 

The  Rhine  here  becomes  narrowed  within  the  limits  of  a  magnificent  ravine, 
which   extends  as  far  as  Bingen.      Vineyards  cover  every  slope,  castles  crown  the 

16 


o 


UP  THE  RHINE,  AND  INTO  GERMANY. 

heights,  picturesque  villages  are  dotted  here  and  there  upon  the  banks  :  familiar 
names  and  scenes  on  which  I  need  not  here  dwell.  Passing  Oberwesel,  a  little  way 
past  the  Lurlci  rock,  on  the  opposite  bank,  all  beauties  seem  combined  of  scenery  and 
quaint  architecture.  The  lofty  round  tower,  called  the  Ochsenthurm,  attracts  every 
eye.  Then  comes  the  curious  "  Pfalz  "  in  the  middle  of  the  stream  ;  and,  a  little 
farther,  Bacharach,  perhaps  the  "Altar  of  Bacchus  "  ;  so-called  from  a  rock  in  the 
bed  of  the  river  seen  above  water  in  very  dry  seasons  when  the  vineyards  promise 


^m^ 


KATZ    CASTLE,    ST.    GUAR. 


well.  Now  follow  in  quick  succession  the  vine-bearing  hills  whose  names  are  famous 
in  all  the  world.  It  is  curious  to  see  how  eagerly  every  rood  of  ground  on  these 
steep  slopes  is  cultivated,  the  earth  being  embanked,  terrace  above  terrace  ;  and  the 
vines,  we  are  told,  being  planted  in  baskets  where  the  declivity  would  not  retain  the 
soil  in  any  othttr  way.  How  the  irrigation  and  manuring  of  the  temler  plants  are 
carried  on  amid  these  difficulties  ;  how  every  season  brings  its  task  of  anxious  toil  ; 
in  short,  what  a  laborious,  absorbing,  and  precarious  form  of  industry  this  is,  many 
have  already  told.  Even  in  passing  by  rapidly,  as  we  must,  it  is  easy  to  discern 
traces  of  the  unremitting  and  arduous  toil  which  makes  these  hill-sides,  perhaps,  for 
good  or  evil,  the  most  carefully  cultivated  ground  in  Europe.  So  we  pass  Assmanns- 
hausen,  with  its  steeply  terraced  slopes,  and  Rudesheim  at  some  distance  beyond  ; 

>9 


UP  THE  RHINE,  AND  INTO  GERMANY. 

while  farther  still  the  white  walls  of  the  Schloss  Johannisberg  are  conspicuous  upon 
the  height.  But  of  yet  greater  interest  is  it  to  trace  the  course  of  the  river  as  it  here 
crosses  an  ancient  mountain  barrier.  "Between  Bingen  and  Boppard  the  Rhine  cuts 
across   a  chain  of  mountains  running  nearly  at  right  angles   to   the  course  of  its 


BACHARACH  (Bacchi  Ara). 


Stream.  There  are  good  grounds  for  supposing  that  at  one  time  (before  human 
record)  this  range  entirely  stopped  its  farther  progress,  damming  up  the  waters  be- 
hind them  into  a  lake,  which  extended  as  far  as  Basel,  and  whose  existence  is  further 
proved  by  numerous  fresh-water  deposits,  shells,  etc.,  to  be  found  in  the  valley  of  the 
Rhine,  above  Mayence.  Some  vast  convulsion,  such  as  no  existing  forces  could 
effect,  must  have  burst  through  this  mountain  wall,  and  made  for  the  river  the 
gorge  or  ravine  by  which  it  now  obtains  a  passage  to  the  ocean.  A  species  of  dyke, 
or  wall  of  rock,  is  perhaps  a  remnant  of  this  colossal  barrier.      It  is  passable  for  ves- 


t'!^^~^M 


'^■^1      (If       K 


22 


OBERWESEL  :     THE    OCHSENTHURM. 


UP  THE  RHINE,  AND  INTO  GERMANY. 

sels  only  at  one  spot,  where  a  channel  called  Bingcrloch,  '  Hole  of  Bingen,'  has  been 
burst  through  it  by  artificial  means.  The  impediments  occasioned  by  it  in  the  navi- 
gation of  the  river  have  been  reduced  from  time  to  time.  In  1830-32,  the  Prussian 
Government  widened  the  passage  from  twenty  to  two  hundred  and  ten  feet,  by  blast- 
ing the  sunken  rocks  in  the  bed  of  the  Rhine." 


RUDKSHEIM    AND    THE    lUNGLKLOCH. 


Our  halting-place  is  Mayence,  where  the  larger  steamers  stop;  and  before  pre- 
paring for  another  start  we  must  see  at  least  Thorwaldsen's  statue  of  Gutenberg, 
the  reputed  inventor  of  printing,  and  a  native  of  this  city.  The  statue  stands 
grandly  in  an  open  space,  beyond  which  rises  the  great  octagonal  tower  of  the 
cathedral.  It  was  earl)-  morning  when  I  sallied  forth  to  look  at  the  monument;  and 
passing  to  the  cathedral  steps,  it  was  interesting  to  watch  the  hundreds  of  market- 
folk  who  had  come  in  with  their  wares  from  the  country,  in  every  variety  of  peasant 
costume,  bright  colors  predominating  in  kerchiefs  and  head-dresses,  while  the  Babel 


UP  THE  RHINE,  AND  INTO  GERMANY. 

of  talk  was  wonderfully  amusing-.  It  was  the  first  German  city  through  which  I  had 
thus  leisurely  strolled — for  Cologne,  with  its  medley  of  street  architecture,  its  per- 
tinacious touters,  its  manifold  show-places,  and  its  one  "  Dom,"  overshadowing  all 
besides,  hardly  counts  with  the  rest.  I  had  stayed  in  Cologne  to  see  this  marvel  of 
the  world,  of  course  ;  but  did  not  attempt  the  needless  task  of  describing  it,  nor 


MAYENCE  :     THORWALDSEN  S   STATUE    OF    GUTENBERG. 


need  it  be  depicted  here.  Germany  really  began  for  me  at  Mayence  ;  and  foi  first 
impressions  it  would  be  difficult  to  find  a  more  interesting  city.  It  has,  like  many 
other  German  towns,  a  fine  statue  of  Schiller  ;  but  the  special  attraction  was  that  of 
Gutenberg.  His  claim  as  the  true  inventor  of  the  greatest  of  arts  is  now  tolerably 
well  established  ;  although  it  may  be  questioned  whether  the  idea  had  not  long 
existed  before  his  time  ;  while,  like  many  great  discoveries,  it  was  slow  in  taking  shape. 
The  art  of  engraving  from  blocks  had  been  long  familiar  to  many  nations  ;  it  seems 

24 


UP  THE  RHINE,  AND  INTO  GERMANY. 

incredible  that  it  had  occurred  to  no  one  to  divide  the  blocks  into  smaller  sections, 
making  them  movable,  and  susceptible  of  combination.  So  simple  was  it,  when  it 
was  done !  Till  this  good  citizen  of  Mainz  arose,  Gooscflesk  by  name  ("  Gans- 
fleisch"),  made  euphonious  as  "Gutenberg,"  the  time  had  not  come.  Shall  we  not 
see  the  hand  of  Providence,  in  causing  the  discovery  to  be  contemporaneous  with 
the  awaking  of  human  thought  after  the  slumber  of  the  Middle  Aees?  Then  it 
may  be  remarked  in  passing,  that  the  discovery  of  printing  would  have  been  of  small 
practical  value  without  good,  durable,  and  cheap  paper  ;  and  this  was  also  reserved, 


MAVENCE    CATHEDKAI.. 


for  Europe,  at  least,  until  about  the  same  era.  At  any  rate,  it  is  with  a  sense  akin 
to  awe  that  one  looks  up  to  this  effigy  of  the  calm  old  man  in  his  burgher's  robes, 
and  thinks  of  the  mighty  issues  that  have  flowed  from  his  simple  discovery  to  every 
nation  under  heaven  ! 

A  short  railway  ride  took  me  to  Worms,  where  I  alighted,  chiefly  to  see  the 
great  monument  of  Luther.  It  was  it\ipossible  not  to  notice  the  high-pitched  roofs 
of  the  houses,  with  their  innumerable  tiles,  and  to  recall  Luther's  famous  exclama- 
tion, when  his  friend  strove  to  deter  him  from  entering  the  city.  The  place  where 
he  stood  or  sat,  beneath  a  tree,  surrounded  by  his  companions,  is  still  pointed  out; 
and  the  scene  gives  emphasis  to  his  declaration  :  "  I  would  go  to  Worms  were  there 
as  many  devils  there  as  there  are  tiles  upon  the  house-roofs  ! "  The  town  is  now  a 
somewhat  dismal  one  ;  the  cathedral  is  massive,  but  not  very  striking  ;  the  streets 
are  dull,  the  inhabitants  seem  inert,  and   I  was  especially  struck  by  the  pictures, 

25 


UP  THE  RHINE,  AND  INTO  GERMANY. 

books,  rosaries,  and  other  Romanist  commodities  in  tlie  shop-windows,  indicating 
the  degeneration  of  the  people  into  a  dull  superstition.  But  the  monument  sur- 
passed all  expectation,  especially  in  the  figure  of  the  great  Reformer,  as  seen  against 
the  calm  evening  sky.  In  such  an  attitude  might  he  himself  have  stood,  with  the 
Bible  in  his  hands,  and  face  upturned  to  heaven,  as  he  exclaimed  before  emperor, 
princes,  and  prelates,  in  the  well-known  words,  engraven  upon  the  pedestal,  Hicr 
stand'  uk:  ick  kann  iiicht  anders ;   Gott  helfe  viicJi.     Allien/     At  the  foot  of  the 


WORMS. 


pedestal,  at  its  four  corners,  are  placed  the  statues  of  his  great  forerunners,  Wyk- 
cliffe,  representing  England  ;  Waldo,  the  father  of  the  Church  ii  the  mountain- 
valleys  of  France;  Hus,  representing  Bohemia  ;  and  Savonarola,  representing  Italy. 
Luther's  friends  and  contemporaries,  Melanchthon  and  Reuchlin,  stand  at  the  rear 
of  the  square,  at  the  angles;  and  the  brave  princes  who  befriended  the  Reformer, 
Frederick  "the  Wise"  of  Saxony,  and  Philip  "the  Generous"  of  Hesse,  in  the  front, 
on  either  side  ;  the  former  with  weapon  upraised,  the  latter  leaning  on  his  sword  ; 
and  at  the  centers  of  three  sides  of  the  square  are  allegorical  figures  of  cities  :  Augs- 
burg, "  making  confession";  Magdeburg,  "mourning,"  and  Spires,  "protesting." 
These,  perhaps,  break  in  a  little  upon  the  unity  of  the  work,  as  a  work  of  art ;  but 
they  are  finely  conceived  ;  and,  if  the  allegory  be  once  admitted,  very  striking. 
Medallions  of  other  great  helpers  of  the  Reformation  are  placed  around  the  pedestal 
26 


CATHEDRAL,    WORMS. 


37 


UP  THE  RHINE,  AND  INTO  GERMANY. 

beneath  appropriate  inscriptions.  The  two  that  appear  in  front,  under  Luther's 
words  above  quoted,  are  John  the  Constant  and  John  Frederick  of  Saxony.  On  the 
opposite  side,  the  two  noble  knights,  Ulrich  von  Hutten  and  Franz  von  Sickingen, 
are  depicted  beneath  words  from  a  speech  of  the  great  Reformer,  "  The  Gospel 
which  the  Lord  put  into  the  mouth  of  the  apostles  is  His  sword.  With  it  He 
strikes  the  world  as  with  a  thunderbolt."  On  the  face  of  the  pedestal,  to  the  right, 
are  medallions  of  John  Bugenhagen,  the  Pomeranian  Reformer,  and  of  Justus 
Jonas,  the  friend  of  Luther,  who  received  his  last  words.  Above  them  is  the  senti- 
ment from  Luther's  letters  :  "  Faith  is  life  in  God  ;  but  it  is  only  through  the  Spirit 
of  Christ  that  we  can  hope  to  understand  Holy  Writ";  while  on  the  fourth  side  ap- 


woRMS :  THE  KAiSERSAAL  {Imperial  Hall^. 

pear  the  efifigies  of  Calvin  and  Zwingli,  underneath  a  sentence  of  Luther,  aptly  and 
beautifully  chosen,  considering  the  divergences  of  opinion  between  these  great  men 
and  himself :  "  Those  that  rightly  understand  Christ  will  not  be  moved  by  what  man 
may  enjoin.  They  are  free,  not  in  the  flesh,  but  in  the  Spirit."  Finally,  on  the 
lower  slab  of  the  pedestal  are  depicted,  in  alto  relievo,  scenes  from  Luther's  life  :  the 
nailing  of  his  theses  to  the  door  of  Wittenberg  Cathedral,  his  appearance  before  the 
Diet  of  Worms,  his  marriage  to  Catherine,  and  his  translating  the  Bible  in  the  castle 
of  the  Wartburg. 

On  the  whole,  though  the  main  outline  of  the  monument  is  square  and  formal, 
and  its  allegorical  personages  are  introduced  among  the  effigies  of  living  men  with  a 
taste  that  moderns  disapprove,  the  general  effect  is  singularly  powerful.  It  is  won- 
derful that  the  travelers  who  turn  aside  to  see  it  are  comparatively  few.  Germany 
has  no   more   impressive,  and,   I   will  add,  poetical  memorial  of  the   men   and  the 

29 


UP   THE  RHINE,  AND  INTO  GERMANY. 

events  that  have  not  only  shaped  her  modern  history,  but  hav_  uplifted  herself  and 
kindred  nations  to  intellectual  and  moral  freedom.  A  great  history  has  been  written 
by  inventive  minds  and  plastic  hands  in  those  forms  of  stone  and  bronze. 

The  next  step  in  the  journey  was  Heidelberg,  most  lovely  in  its  summer  beauty, 
on  the  banks  of  the  sunny  Neckar  ;  and  with  its  ruined  castle,  so  magnificent  in  its 
decay.  Of  course  the  usual  points  were  visited^the  Tun  excepted — which,  some- 
how, neither  my  companions  nor  myself  cared  to  see.  It  was  pleasanter  to  look 
upon  the  budding  vines  outside,  and  to  wander  for  hours  in  the  gardens  and  shrub- 
beries, resting  here  and  there  beneath  the  dark  shadows  of  the  ruins,  covered  now 


LUTHER  MONUMENT,  WORMS. 


with  verdure  and  festooned  with  flowers,  or  to  find  one  and  another  point  of  view, 
each  lovelier  than  the  last,  from  which  to  command  the  glorious  valley,  with  the  river 
winding  to  the  distant  Rhine  ;  the  Vosges  mountains  lying  purple  beyond,  and  the 
spires  and  roofs  of  towns  and  hamlets  flashing  the  sunlight  from  amid  the  verdure 
all  over  the  plain.  The  walks  are  numberless,  could  one  but  stay  ;  and  the  Heidel- 
berg students,  famed  for  duels,  have  at  least  an  earthly  paradise,  in  the  midst  of 
which  to  study  hard,  and  drink  beer,  and  fight,  as  German  students  will. 

A  short  run  brought  us  to  the  roadside  station  of  Oos,  and  thence  to  Baden- 
Baden. 

This  is  a  place  which,  I  suppose,  most  travelers  to  the  Continent  have  at  one 
time  or  another  visited,  and  never  without  feeling  the  uniqueness  of  its  charm. 
There  are  many  places  more  beautiful  in  detail  ;  it  may  be  hard  to  fix  upon  any  one 
feature  of  the  scene  as  supreme  above  the  rest  ;  whatever  single  point  you  select  is 

30 


UP  THE  RHINE,  AND  INTO  GERMANY. 

surpassed  elsewhere  ;  but  take  it  all  in  all,  and  there  is  but  one  Baden  !  No  scene 
in  Europe  could  be  brighter  or  more  fraught  with  varied  life  than  the  evening  prom- 
enade in  high  summer,  to  the  sound  of  exquisite  music,  in  the  great  space  before  the 
Cotiversationsliaiis.  The  crowd  is  of  all  nationalities  ;  gentle  and  simple  are  there 
alike  ;  the  only  voucher  of  admission  is  the  half-mark,  collected  by  the  attendants  in 
so  apparently  casual,  yet  unerring  a  manner  ;  and  the  hum  of  polygot  conversation 
fills  the  air.  Some  fears  were  expressed,  about  the  time  of  my  first  visit  to  Baden, 
when  the  gaming  tables  had  been  newly  suppressed,  and  the  "princely"  liberalit\ 
of  their  lessee  in  throwing  open  to  the  public  his  grounds  and  spacious  halls  could 
no  longer  be  exercised,  that  Baden  in  becoming  decorous  would  be  dull.       Who  now 


HFJDELnERG    BRIDIIE. 


would  care  to  go  ?  The  respectable  who  had  forsworn  the  place  would  not  readily 
change  their  plans,  and  the  lovers  of  unhealthy  excitement  would  depart  elsewhere. 
How,  again,  could  the  stately  rooms,  the  unrivaled  reading  salons,  the  noble  orches- 
tra be  now  maintained  ?  For  a  while  there  seemed  reason  in  these  forebodings,  but 
in  the  end  they  have  been  signally  falsified,  and  Baden-Baden  is  more  popular  than 
ever.  Many  people,  no  doubt,  find  the  value  of  the  mineral  waters  and  the  hot 
baths;  but  I  suspect  that  the  chief  benefit  here,  as  in  many  other  places,  is  derived 
from  the  healthful  air, — so  bracing  without  harshness, — and  from  the  absolute  holiday. 
There  are  no  great  excursions  for  those  who  work  harder  at  their  play  than  at  their 
more  serious  vocations  ;  the  aspiring  pedestrian  must  go  elsewhere  ;  the  Alpine 
Club-man  will  have  nothing  to  say  to  Baden-Baden.  Yet  the  enjoyment  may  be 
without  indolence.  There  is  quite  enough  to  tax  moderate  energies  in  the  walks 
to  the  Alte  Schloss,  and  especially  to  the  Hohe  Felsen — vast  picturesque  masses  of 
broken  porphyry  crags  amid  the  pine  woods,  on  a  summit  commanding  a  glorious 

31 


UP   THE  RHINE,  AND  INTO  GERMANY. 

view  of  swelling  hills  and  green  valleys— and,  further  still,  to  the  Mercuriusberg,  the 
highest  "mountain"  in  the  neighborhood,  2205  feet,  with  a  tower  on  the  summit, 
from  which  the  valleys  of  the  Rhine  and  the  Neckar,  with  the  inclosing  hills,  may  be 
beautifully  seen  on  a  clear  day — or,  again,  to  the  Eberstein  ruins,  commanding  the 
valley  of  Murg,  a  different  view  from  either — and  one,  to  my  mind,  surpassing  in 
loveliness  all  others  in  this  neighborhood. 

But  we  will  suppose  these  excursions  duly  taken.  The  chief  delights  of  the 
place  lie  even  nearer  at  hand,  in  the  walks  by  the  clear,  swift,  quaint  little  embanked 
stream  that  runs,  in  its  walled-in  trench,  between  its  garden-covered  bar^ks,  or  in 
leisurely  strolls  along  the  Lichtenthaler  Avenue,  where  oak  and  maple  cast  broad 
shadows  between  which  the  sunlight  is  reflected  in  the  hues  of  a  thousand  flowers. 
But  to  many  the  favorite  time  is  still  that  of  early  morning,  when  the  visitors,  who 
are  conscientiously  undergoing  "the  treatment,"  go  to  the  Trinkhalle  for  their  un- 
pleasant draught,  while  those  who  prefer  the  freshness  of  the  morning  air  without 
any  such  addition,  stroll  through  the  open  space,  or  ascend  the  little  hill  where  the 
Greek  church  reflects  the  sunlight  dazzlingly  from  its  gilded  dome,  and  watch  the 
mist  curling  upward  through  the  pine  forests.  At  seven — for  we  have  not  turned 
out  at  an  unreasonably  early  hour  after  all !— the  band  takes  its  place  in  the  pavilion, 
and  their  first  piece  is  always  a  chorale,  or  hymn,  grandly  rendered;  "  Nun  danket 
alle  Gott,"  or  "  Ein'  feste  Burg  ist  unser  Gott,"  or  some  kindred  strain,  filling  the  still 
air  with  rich  melody,  and  by  happy  associations  awaking  thoughts  that  consecrate 
the  morning  hours.  Whatever  may  be  thought  of  early  rising  in  the  abstract,  I  can 
assure  all  readers  that  it  is  worth  while  to  leave  their  couches  earlier  than  usual  at 
Baden,  if  only  for  the  sake  of  joining  in  spirit  in  the  hymn  that  thus  ushers  in  the 
day. 

One  day's  excursion  from  Baden-Baden  stands  out  in  memory  with  peculiar 
pleasantness.  Having  been  favored  with  an  introduction  to  a  baron  of  the  German 
Empire,  whose  home  was  at  Gernsbach,  I  started,  in  company  with  a  friend,  to  walk 
over  the  spur  of  the  hill  which  separates  the  valley  of  the  Cos  from  that  of  the 
Murg.  After  leaving  the  shaded  Lichtenthaler  Avenue  we  ascended,  by  a  long  but 
easy  climb,  first  by  an  open  road,  then  between  woods  of  pine  and  beech,  with  the 
noble  summit  of  the  Mercuriusberg  full  in  sight  at  every  opening,  until  a  turn  in  the 
road  disclosed  the  lovely  Murgthal,  with  its  fields  and  woods,  and  the  gleaming  spire 
of  a  village  church.  No  picture  could  well  be  fairer  than  that  peaceful  valley,  bathed 
in  the  light  of  the  summer  sun.  Thinking  we  had  reached  Gernsbach,  we  descended 
a  steep  slope  to  the  village,  speculating  on  the  baronial  habitation  we  should  find, 
and  the  reception  on  which  we  might  calculate.  Was  it  to  be  wondered  at  if  we 
recalled,  for  each  other's  amusement,  old  stories  of  Black  Forest  barons  with  their 
dark  deeds?  Should  we  be  met  at  the  portal  by  baying  hounds,  or  would  haughty 
retainers  demand  our  errand  ere  they  suffered  us  to  advance  ?  The  place  seemed 
so  remote  from  the  world,  the  houses  were  so  quaint,  and  the  few  peasant  women, 
working  in  the  fields,  so  antique  in  garb,  that  it  almost  seemed  as  though  one  had 
stepped  into  medieval  times.  Our  romance,  however,  was  a  little  interrupted  by 
discovering  that  we  had  not  yet  reached  Gernsbach,  but  must  walk  some  two  miles 
farther  along  the  valley.  This  being  accomplished,  in  what  we  begun  to  feel  the 
burden  and  heat  of  the  day,  we  found  ourselves  in  a  little  town,  narrow-streeted, 
high-roofed,  and,  to  speak  comparatively,  with  a  suggestion  of  better  sanitary  appli- 

32 


H 
J 


< 


UP  THE  RHINE,  AND  INTO  GERMANY. 

ances  than  we  had  found  in  some  German  villages  before.  The  chips  and  debris  of 
saw-yards,  which  here  and  there  strewed  the  ground,  showed  the  chief  industry  of 
the  place  ;  and  the  people  whom  we  met,  and  of  whom  we  inquired  the  way,  were 
robust-looking  and  well-to-do.  There  was  no  difficulty  in  finding  our  baron's,  the 
principal  house,  as  it  seemed,  in  the  little  town  ;  and  the  waiting-room,  into  which 
we  were  shown  while  our  names  were  sent  up,  was  more  like  a  well-furnished  mission- 
hall  than  the  grim  ante-chamber  which  our  imagination  had  pictured.  Texts  of  Scrip- 
ture, in  large  letters,  adorned  the  walls,  with  Scripture  pictures  hung  between.  There 
were  notices  of  Christian  meetings  and  evangelistic  services  ;  for  which  the   desk 


GINGENBACH,    A    BLACK    FOREST    VILLAGE. 


and  seats,  and  hymn-books  scattered  about,  made  simple  but  ample  provision.  We 
had  scarcely  time  to  take  all  this  in,  and  smilingly  to  remark  on  this  new  nineteenth- 
century  style  of  baronial  dwelling,  when  we  were  ushered  into  the  presence  of  the 
mistress  of  the  house,  the  baron  himself  being  absent.  We  found  a  charming 
family  circle,  household,  and  visitors — into  the  privacy  of  which  I  have  no  right  to 
introduce  my  readers  ;  only  this  may  be  said,  that  the  one  topic  of  interest  was  the 
progress  of  Christ's  kingdom  in  the  world.  News  from  London  formed  naturally 
the  subject  of  inquiry  ;  but  our  friends  were  more  concerned  to  learn  what  good  was 
being  done  to  the  souls  of  men  than  to  hear  of  commercial  prospects  or  political 
changes.  After  our  mid-day  repast — by  which  time  the  baron  had  joined  us — we 
read  a  chapter  of  the  Bible  together,  sitting  round  the  table,  a  verse  each,  my  friend 
and  I  taking  our  turn  in  English,  the  rest  in  German  ;  while  the  cheerful  informal 
character  of  the  exercise  showed  that   the  Word  of  God   was   regarded  as  "  daily 

35 


UP   THE  RHINE,  AND  INTO  GERMANY. 

food."  On  rising  from  the  table  we  were  taken  by  our  host  into  a  large  room  down- 
stairs, where  we  found  some  young  men  busily  at  work,  copying,  correcting  proof- 
sheets,  folding  circulars,  while  reams  of  printed  paper  occupied  the  shelves  and 
presses  of  the  apartment.  Then  we  found  that  we  were  really  in  a  large  tract  depot, 
our  host  himself  undertaking  the  printing,  publication,  and  distribution  of  tracts  and 
periodicals,  with  some  larger  works,  and  a  whole  array  of  juvenile  literature,  with 
illustrations  that  we  thought  we  recognized,  as  well  as  other  pictures.  We  found 
that  this  enterprise  is  somewhat  considerably  assisted  by  the  Religious  Tract 
Society  ;  but  the  stress  of  the  work  is  with  the  baron  himself,  who  is  thus  scattering 
through  the  Black  Forest  district,  and  the  Rhenish  provinces  generally,  an  immense 
amount  of  pure  and  valuable  literature  ;  while  the  prayer-meetings,  Bible-meetings, 
and  evangelistic  services  held  at  Gernsbach  ought  to  make  the  pretty  little  town  in 
that  fair  valley  an  oasis  of  spiritual  life  and  moral  beauty.  So  it  seemed  to  us,  with, 
perhaps,  too  sanguine  a  judgment,  as  we  sat,  after  our  survey,  in  a  trellised  arbor, 
sipping  our  coffee  beneath  a  spreading  vine.  By  that  time  the  afternoon  was  far 
advanced.  With  mutual  good  wishes  we  bid  adieu  to  our  hospitable  friends,  and 
addressed  ourselves  to  our  homeward  walk.  We  afterward  found  that  Gernsbach 
could  be  reached  by  rail  from  Baden-Baden  by  a  long  circuit,  up  the  valley  of  the 
Murg  by  Rastatt  ;  and  the  route,  no  doubt,  from  its  quiet  picturesque  beauty,  will 
some  day  be  better  known  by  tourists  ;  the  glens,  which  descend  on  both  sides  to  the 
Murg,  being  some  of  them  of  exquisite  loveliness. 

It  was  with  many  regrets  that  we  took  our  departure  from  Baden,  being  anxious 
to  see  something  more  of  the  Black  Forest  than  is  possible  here  upon  its  edge.  We 
adopted  the  easiest,  and  in  some  respects  the  most  striking  route,  taking  the  main 
line  up  the  Rhine  valley  as  far  as  the  roadside  station  of  Offenburg,  where  we 
changed  into  the  newly  opened  Black  Forest  Railway  ;  at  first,  gently  ascending  past 
fair  meadows  and  among  wooded  hills,  but  soon  finding  ourselves  amid  wilder, 
grander  scenes,  zigzagging  upward  past  gigantic  pine-clad  rocks,  where  the  recent 
railway  workings  had  laid  bare  the  granite  heart  of  the  mountain  in  great  scars 
which  the  kindly  vegetation  had  not  yet  had  time  to  festoon  with  beauty  ;  then  along 
the  edge  of  a  steep  slope  where  the  forest  climbs  above  and  below,  across  wild 
glens  of  stupendous  depth,  and  through  ceaseless  and  most  tantalizing  tunnels.  We 
begin  to  learn  now  what  the  Black  Forest  really  is  ;  although,  to  say  the  truth,  the 
gloom  which  suggested  the  name  is  unfelt  on  such  a  day  as  that  of  an  excursion. 
The  hill-tops  are  bathed  in  sunlight,  every  clearing  between  the  woods  is  brightly 
green  ;  swiftly  as  we  speed  along  we  catch  the  glint  of  innumerable  flowers  among 
the  trees  ;  and  the  shadows  which  lie  across  every  deep  ravine  only  bring  out  more 
vividly  the  splendor  of  the  slopes.  There  are  times,  no  doubt,  when  among  these 
hills  the  mists  lie  low,  and  hoarse  storms  mutter  among  leafless  branches,  and  the 
sturdy  pines  bend  beneath  their  weight  of  snow.  Then  around  the  stove,  wild,  weird 
legends  are  rehearsed,  such  as  have  given  the  Schwarzwald  a  foremost  place  in  im- 
aginative literature  and  art.  But  it  is  impossible  to  believe  in  spirits,  goblins,  or 
witches  to-day.  Perhaps  the  railway  has  scared  their  very  memories  away  from 
these  recesses  ;  or  the  sunshine  brings  out  qualities  yet  more  enchanting. 

After  passing  several  mountain  stations,  where  little  churches  on  the  heights 
seem  to  keep  watch  and  ward  over  the  hamlets  below,  we  reach  our  present  destina- 
tion, the  thriving  forest  town  of  Triberg,  the  Three  Mountains,  where  we  propose 

36 


UP  THE  RHINE,  AND  INTO  GERMANY. 

to  halt  for  awhile,  making-  it  the  center  of  excursions ;  and  certainly  no  place  could 
better  invite  a  prolonged  sojourn  than  the  Schwarzwald  Hotel,  perched  on  a  little 
eminence  commanding  the  three  wooded  hills  and  the  forked  valleys  between,  while 
behind,  through  a  granite  cleft,  roars  the  magnificent  waterfall  of  Gutach,  in  seven 
cascades,  descending  in  all  about  500  feet.  It  is  said  to  be  the  most  beautiful  in 
North  Germany,  and  we  can  well  believe  it  without  exploring  the  rest.  Very 
rapidly,  however,  is  it  becoming  a  "lion,"  with  the  usual  result.  Undine  and  her 
nymphs  are  scared  away,  and  the  lime-light,  with  red  and  blue  fire,  has  taken  their 
place  1     On  the  first  night  of  our  visit  the  whole  town  turned  out,  in  festal  excite- 


THE    BLACK    FOREST    RAILWAY. 


ment,  to  see  the  first  illumination  of  the  season.  The  effect,  no  doubt,  was  very 
brilliant,  as  the  torrent  descended  through  the  dark  gulf  in  cataracts  of  many-colored 
flames,  while  the  dimly  seen  trees  on  either  bank  stood  with  their  branches  in  relief 
against  the  star-lit  sky.  As  a  fitting  sequel,  the  front  of  the  hotel  itself  was  illumi- 
nated ;  and  far  and  wide  no  doubt  the  building  shone,  like  some  magician's  palace 
among  the  hills.  My  friend  and  I  will  long  retain  a  vivid  remembrance  of  the  mass 
of  upturned  German  faces,  seen  from  the  hotel  terrace  by  the  reflected  gleam  of  the 
ruddy  flames.  These  gazers  at  least  were  lost  in  mute  admiration,  and  showed  all  the 
national  faculty  of  being  easily  amused. 

Our  walks  from  Tribcrg  were  many,  across  the  hills,  through  the  woods,  and 
down  into  primitive-looking  villages,  where  the  power  of  some  rushing  stream  had 
broucrht  saw-mills  to  its  banks.  This  form  of  industry  is  necessarily  the  prevailing 
one  of  the  district  ;  large  numbers  of  persons  being  employed,  from  the  wood-cutter 
to  the  sawyer  and  wood-carver.      Down  the  broader  stream,  when  swollen  by  winter 

37 


UF  THE  RHINE,  AND  INTO  GERMANY. 

rains,  great  rafts  are  floated  to  the  Rhine.  The  pine  stems  are  loosely  connected  by 
supple%villow  bands,  so  adroitly  that  the  raft  in  its  descent  can  adapt  its  shape  to 
the  sinuosities  of  the  stream,  winding  in  and  out  in  a  very  curious  fashion,  almost 


A    BLACK    FOREST    TIMBER   RAFT. 


like  a  living  thing,  while  raftsmen  in  front,  and  a  steersman  behind,  skillfully  regulate 

its  course.  . 

The  number  of  people  who,  in  one  way  or  another,  make  a  comfortable  livmg 
out  of  these  grand  woods,  from  charcoal-burning  to  the  most  elaborate  and 
beautiful  carving,  must  be  very  large.  We  saw  none  who  seemed  wretchedly  poor, 
and  I  do  not  remember  in  all  our  walks  being  once  asked  for  alms.     Nor,  on  the 

38 


UP  THE  RHINE,  AND  INTO  GERMANY. 

Other  hand,  were  there  evidences  of  great  wealth.  'I'here  were  no  mansions  or 
parks.  Here  and  there  stood  farmhouses  with  surrounding  buildings,  that  were 
plainly  the  abodes  of  well-to-do  people  ;  but  these  bore  only  about  the  same  relation 
to  the  rest  as  the  half-dozen  larger  houses  in  a  children's  "  German  village  "  do  to  the 
quaint  and  uniform  little  rows  among  which  they  are  set  up.  The  reader  must  par- 
don the  comparison  :  it  was  irresistible.  Everywhere  we  saw  the  toy-houses  of  our 
childhood,  magnified,  as  it  were,  to  gigantic  size  ;  and  the  churches  too,  with  their 
round  cupolas  and  little  spires.  Nor  only  so,  but  the  very  trees  were  there  in  fac- 
simile, standing  in  avenues,  with  their  cddly-clipped    tops  tapering  conically  to  a 


SOURCE    OK    THE    DANUBE. 


point.      Like  other  artists,  the  Dutch,  or  rather  German,  "  Deutsche,"  toymen,  had, 
after  all,  only  imitated  what  they  had  seen 

Returning  to  Triberg,  we  spent  a  pleasant  and  amusing  hour  in  the  local  exhibi- 
tion, where  the  industries  of  the  neighborhood,  especially  the  wood-carving  and  clock- 
making,  are  illustrated  in  a  remarkably  complete  and  interesting  way.  The  Dutch 
clocks  of  all  kinds,  from  the  simplest  and  cheapest  up  to  the  most  elaborately  and 
artistically  carved,  are  there  to  tempt  the  purchaser;  and  almost  everything  into 
which  wood  can  be  carved  or  shaped  may  be  found  in  this  unique  collection.  Each 
exhibitor  seems  to  have  a  compartment  for  his  own  wares,  and  the  prices,  which  are 
astonishingly  moderate,  are  plainly  marked.  The  cuckoo-clocks,  in  particular,  are 
innumerable  ;  one  would  hardly  have  thought  that  the  demand  for  that  irritating 
curiosity  could  ever  have  met  the  supply  in  this  one  exhibition.  And,  as  the  clocks 
were  nearly  all  wound  up  and  going,  the  amount  of  cuckooing,  when  the  hour  struck, 
was  something  tremendous  ;  although,  witli  much  considerateness,  the  clockmakers 
had  avoided  strict  uniformity  in  their  time,  and  so  had  distributed  the  sound.     A 

39 


UP  THE  RHINE,  AND  INTO  GERMANY. 

wonderful  mechanical  nightingale,  in  a  cage,  with  notes  hardly  to  be  distinouished 
from  those  of  the  living  bird,  was  one  of  the  attractions  of  the  exhibition  ;  while  the 
climax  of  constructive  ingenuity  seemed  reached  by  an  instrument  at  the  end  of  the 
room,  called,  I  believe,  the  Orchestrion,  which  was  wound  up  like  a  gigantic  musical 
box,  and  gave  a  good  imitation  of  a  military  band. 

The  next  halting-place  to  Triberg,  on  the  Black  Forest  Railway,  for  most  trav- 


BREISACH    ON    THE    RHINE,    NEAR    FREIBURG. 

elers,  is  Donaueschingen,  where  rises,  in  a  pretty  garden,  a  spring  of  clear  water 
which,  at  least,  helps  to  form  the  Danube.  The  spring  is  surrounded  by  a  stone 
basin,  and  the  traveler  is  told  that  here  he  witnesses  the  veritable  source  of  the 
mighty  river.  There  are,  however,  streams  rising  higher  among  the  hills  which  flow 
into  the  same  grand  current;  while  the  whole  region  of  Donaueschingen  is  saturated 
with  waters  in  the  form  of  marshes,  pools,  and  streams,  that  find  an  outlet  in  the 
same  direction.  Here,  then,  within  thirty  or  forty  miles  of  the  Riiine,  is  the  begin- 
ning of  its  mightier  rival.  And  as  the  Neckar,  and  other  tributaries  of  the  Rhine, 
have  their  source  in  the  Black  Forest,  the  water-shed  being  often  only  a  low  ridge,  it 
is  possible,  as  has  been  often  remarked,  for  drops  of  water  that  begin  their  course 
40 


42 


GLEN    AND    CASCADE    NEAR    ALLERHEILIGEN  ;    BLACK    FOREST. 


UP   THE  RHINE,  AND  INTO  GERMANY. 

almost  together — falling  as  rain,  for  instance,  on  the  opposite  ridges  of  the  same 
roof — to  find  their  destination,  one  in  the  Black  Sea,  the  other  in  the  German 
Ocean.  The  illustration  is  an  impressive  one  of  the  way  in  which  associated  lives 
may  part  at  last. 

At  Singen,  near  Schaffhausen,  the  Black  Forest  Railway  re-enters  the  valley  of 


THE    HOLLENTHAL. 


the  Rhine;  and  of  all  entrances  into  Switzerland  this  is  surely  the  most  beautiful. 
We  must,  however,  retrace  our  course  to  Freiburg,  which  may  be  reached  from 
Donaueschingen  on  the  main  line  to  Basel,  if  we  wish  to  explore  farther  some  of  the 
most  characteristic  scenery  of  the  region.  The  glens  which  run  up  among  the  Black 
Forest  Hills  from  this  neighborhood  are,  perhaps,  unsurpassed  for  beauty  in  the 
whole  district  ;  especially  that  known  as  Hollenthal,  the  Vale  of  Hell,  a  name  doubt- 
less conferred  before  the  terrors  of  the  ravine  had  been  removed  by  the  excellent 
road  which  now  winds  along  the  edge  of  its  rocky  steeps,  giving  the  delighted  trav- 

43 


UP  THE  RHINE,  AND  INTO  GERMANY. 

eler  full  leisure  to  admire  the  Trossachs-like  glory  of  overhanging  woods,  and 
enabling  him  to  enter  the  darkest  shade  of  the  ravine  without  fear.  "  Himmel- 
reich,"  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven,  is  the  name  given,  in  the  same  old  times,  to  the 
sunny  upland  reached  after  the  glen  is  passed. 

Freiburg  itself  ("  Freiburg  in  Breisgau,"  to  distinguish  it  from  the  Swiss  Fri- 


AT    ALLERHEILIGEN. 


bourg)  is  a  place  of  much  interest,  and  the  most  hurried  traveler  to  the  Black  Forest 
should  at  least  find  time  to  visit  its  cathedral,  "almost  the  only  large  Gothic  church 
in  Germany  which  is  finished,"  with  a  tower  of  extraordinary  beauty,  an  octagon 
resting  on  a  massive  square  base,  and  surmounted  by  a  spire  of  open  tracery-work, 
wrought  in  stone,  and  in  the  union  of  strength  and  lightness  surpassing  almost  every 
other  work  of  the  kind.  On  the  whole,  the  Black  Forest  is  not  rich  in  ecclesiastical 
architecture  ;  but  the  Abbey  of  Allerheiligen,  All  Saints,  a  comparatively  modern 
ruin,  is  described  as  very  fine,  both  in  itself  and  in  its  environment.  It  is  best 
reached  from  Baden-Baden  ;  I  was,  however,  unable  to  visit  it.  Dr.  Stoughton,  in 
44 


46 


RUINS   OF    ALLERHEILIGEN — WINTER. 


UP  THE  RHIXE,  AND  IX TO  GERMANY. 

his  "  Reminiscences  of  the  Black   Forest,"  published  in  the  LeiS7irc  Hotir,  pleasantly 
describes  an  excursion  to  the  spot  : 

"On  a  brilliant  autumn  morning  we  started  from  Baden  by  rail  to  Oos,  and  on 
to  Achern  by  the  main  line.  Achern  is  the  third  station  south  of  Oos,  and  the 
thriving  little  town  which  lends  the  name  is  situated  at  the  mouth  of  the  Kapper- 
thal,  boasting  of  a  monument  to  the  Grand  Duke  Leopold,  and  possessing  in  its 
vicinity  a  large  lunatic  asylum,  containing  four  hundred  patients.     Several  carriages 


BEETHOVEN  S    HOUSE,    liOXN. 

are  found  awaiting  the  train,  and  engaging  one  of  these,  we  directed  the  coachman 
to  drive  to  Allcrheiligen,  about  nine  or  ten  miles  farther,  where  there  are  ruins  of  a 
famous  abbey,  a  great  object  of  attraction  in  these  parts,  and  which  we  had  been 
advised  by  all  means  to  visit.  The  road  leads  through  the  Kappeler  Thai,  a  bright 
green  dale,  such  as  are  frequent  in  the  depths  of  the  Schwarzwald  ;  and  on  the  left 
could  be  seen,  high  up  on  the  hills,  the  Brigittenschloss,  commanding  a  noble  pros- 
pect. Two  small  villages  were  passed,  and  then,  ascending  by  the  course  of  the 
Achernbach,  leaving  the  Chateau  of  Rotleck  to  the  left,  we  readied  Ottenhofen, 
I020  feet  above  the  sea,  a  German  resort  containing  humble  pensions,  where  people 
can   live   for  thirty-seven   cents  a  day.      A  fnie  walk  can  be  taken  in  that   neighbor- 

47 


UP  THE  RHINE,  AND  INTO  GERMANY. 

hood,  over  hill  and  dale,  and  across  brooks  and  meadows,  and  by  grottoes  redolent 
with  legendary  lore  ;  but  the  carriage  road  ascends  the  Unterwasserthal  to  a  place 
called  Neuhaus,  when  it  makes  a  curv^e,  enabling  the  tourist  to  enjoy  rich  retrospec- 
tive views  of  rural  tranquillity  left  behind.  Prom  the  top  of  the  hill  the  road  de- 
scends, and  as  the  carriage  winds  down,  we  come  upon  a  densely  wooded  dale,  out 
of  which  rise  noble  ruins  belonging  to  the  ancient  abbey  of  All  Saints,  of  the  Pre- 
monstratensian  order,  an  order  founded  by  St.  Norbert  in  the  twelfth  centurj'. 
They  are  not  equal  to  those  at  Tintern,  or  Fountains,  or  Melrose,  but  they  are 
stately,  and  contain  some  fine  columns  and  arches  and  windows,  and  they  cover  tlie 
whole  breadth  of  the  narrow  dale.  The  abbey  was  founded  by  the  Duchess  Uta  of 
Schauenburg,  in  1196,  soon  after  the  institution  of  the  order.  We  sauntered  about 
on  the  green  turf,  where  once  broad  stones  were  trodden  by  the  feet  of  the  brother- 
hood ;  round  the  crumbling  walls,  so  unsteady  that  accidents  sometimes  occur, — a 
gentleman  lost  his  life  fifteen  years  ago, — down  the  widening  valle\'  into  depths  of 
wooded  pastures  ;  and  then  rested  and  refreshed  ourselves  in  a  convenient  rustic 
dining-room  attached  to  the  inn  near  the  ruins.  A  drive  back  in  the  evening  to 
Achern,  where  we  caught  the  train  which  conveyed  us  home  to  Baden,  completed  a 
most  agreeable  excursion,  which  we  would  commend  to  every  reader  who  goes  that 
way. 

But,  in  truth,  the  excursions  that  may  be  taken  with  delight  and  advantage  in 
this  beautiful  region  are  endless.  The  railway  has  opened  up  some  of  the  finest 
parts  ;  but  there  are  sequestered  glens,  and  busy  villages,  lying  away  from  its  route, 
that  startle  the  roving  pedestrian  by  their  charm.  Let  him  only  know  the  language, 
and  be  prepared  for  rough  accommodation  and  homely  manners,  and  a  ramble 
almost  anywhere  in  the  Black  Forest,  if  the  weather  be  good  (an  important  consider- 
ation), will  vie  with  any  excursion  in  Europe,  not.  Indeed,  in  the  grandest  features 
of  mountain  sublimity,  but  in  satisfying  beauty  of  scenery,  wholesome  invigorating 
air,  and  pleasant  intercourse  with  simple  friendly  people  ;  and  all  this  at  compara- 
tively inconsiderable  cost.  A  fortnight,  out  and  home,  will  enable  the  tired  Lon- 
doner, who  can  secure  no  longer  holiday,  to  see  it  all. 


48 


z 

3 
X 


BRUNSWICIt  :     THE    OLD    MAKKF.T. 


GLIMPSES  OF  NORTHERN  GERMANY. 


'HE  entrance  to  Northern  Germany  b)'  the  Elbe  is  in  its  way  as 
>5^  pleasant  as  that  by  the  Rhine,  and  avoids  the  fatigue  of  a  long 
railway  journey  before  reaching  the  principal  cities.  In  fact,  I 
am  not  sure  that,  if  a  holitla)-  be  th(^  object,  the  end  is  not  better 
attained  by  making  Hamburg  the  starting-point.  The  descent 
of  the  Thames  by  one  of  the  noble  steamers  which  cross  the  Ger- 
man Ocean,  in  fine  weather  and  with  congenial  companionship, 
is  a  joy  to  be  remembered  ;  and  the  sea  itself  has  its  moods  of  sunny 
calm  ;  although  it  must  be  confessed  that  storm  ami  fog  are  not  un- 
common. In  almost  any  case  the  four  and  twenty  hours  spent  in  crossing 
from  river  to  river  may  be  considered  as  well  spent  by  the  tired  worker,  the  best 
possible  preparation  for  a  true  rest.  I  shall  not  soon  forget  the  splendor  of  the 
spring  afternoon  when  the  mists  at  last  had  lifted,  and  over  a  smooth  sea  in  the  light 
of  the  westering  sun  the  great  screw  steamer,  with  its  scanty  company  of  passengers, 

51 


GLIAfFSES  OF  NORTHERN  GERMANY 

passed  by  the  little  port  of  Cuxhaven,  and  entered  the  broad  river.  The  islet  of 
Heligoland  was  visible  on  our  left,  though  this  singular  little  appendage  to  the 
British  Empire  was  not  so  plainly  seen  as  we  had  hoped.'  Night  closed  around  us 
as  we  passed  up  the  Elbe  ;  for  a  wliile  only  the  line  of  low  shore  on  either  side  could 
be  discerned,  with  lights  gleaming  here  and  there.  Then,  on  our  left  hand,  the 
right  bank  of  the  river,  appeared  the  outline  of  dark  woods  and  sloping  hills,  dis- 
cerned in  relief  aeainst  the  starlit  skv.  The  air  was  musical  with  the  song  of  birds, 
— the  thrush,  the  blackbird,  and  the  nightingale.  Amid  the  woods,  here  and  there, 
the  lights  of  houses  twinkled  ;  gradually  they  became  more  numerous  ;  at  length  on 
both  sides  of  the  river  the  lamps  of  a  great  city  came  into  full  view,  and  we  retired 
to  our  berths  for  a  short  night's  rest,  before  the  next  day's  attempt  to  gather  new 
German  pictures  in  a  new  scene. 

A  great  seaport  city  must  always  have  its  points  of  interest,  and  Hamburg  is  no 


HELIGOLAND. 


exception  ;  although,  truth  to  say,  there  is  little  in  its  architecture  or  its  associations 
to  detain  the  traveler.  Among  the  churches  that  of  St.  Nicholas,  of  which  the  late 
Sir  Gilbert  Scott  was  architect,  is  pre-eminent  in  beauty  ;  and  has,  it  is  said,  the 
highest  spire  in  Europe,  surpassing  that  of  Strassburg  by  a  few  feet.  We  much  ad- 
mired Its  stately  exterior,  although  the  great  plain  brick  buttresses  suggest  a  kind  of 
incompleteness.  It  is  true  that  in  a  Protestant  cathedral  there  is  happily  no  room 
for  that  kind  of  enrichment  which  marks  the  Gothic  cathedrals  of  former  ages. 
Sculptured  saints,  and  niches  for  statues,  and  legends  carved  in  stone,  are  alien  from 
the  simplicity  of  our  worship,  and  we  can  well  dispense  with  the  elaboration  and 
the  splendor.  Still,  the  contrast  architecturally  was  felt,  and  the  material  of  which  so 
much  of  this  fine  cathedral  is  built  cannot  be  made  as  effective  as  stone.  Into  the 
interior  we  could  not  gain  admittance,  as  service  was  proceeding  in  the  presence  of 
a  very  select  company  indeed.     Our  visit  happened  to  be  on  Himviclsfahrtstag,  As- 

'  Now  a  part  of  Germany. 
52 


GLIMPSES  OF  ^^ORTHERy  GERM  AX  Y. 

cension  Day.  In  a  Roman  Catholic  town  the  churches  would  have  been  even  more 
accessible  than  usual  at  such  a  time  ;  here  it  was  different,  everywhere;  though  in 
one  or  two  places  service  was  going  on,  the  congregations  being  even  smaller  than 
that  at  St.  Nicholas,  the  entrances  were  jealously  guarded  against  all  chance-comers  ; 
and  when  there  was  no  service  the  doors  were  rigorously  shut.     On  account  of  the 


CANAI.    AT    HAMIiURO. 


day,  also,  the  shops  of  the  city  were  mostly  closed,  ami  we  ccuild  only  conjecture  the 
aspect  of  the  busy  city  as  it  is  at  ordinary  limes. 

The  newness  of  many  of  the  stateh'  streets,  in  contrast  with  the  antique  high- 
roofed  buildings  of  other  parts,  was  very  noticeable.  After  the  great  fire  of  1842, 
the  city  was,  in  great  part,  rebuilt  on  a  uniform  plan,  to  the  loss  of  the  old  pictur- 
esqueness,  of  which  glimpses  may  still  be  gained  along  the  banks  of  the  canals  that 
intersect  the  town  ;  but  much,  no  doubt,  to  the  ijromotion  t)f  convenience  and 
health  fulness.      The  Alsler  lakes  arc,  undoubtedly,  the  chief  beauty  of  Hamburg  ;  a 

53 


GLIMPSES  OF  NORTHERN  GERMANY. 


river  which  descends  into  the  Elbe  being  formed  in  the  upper  part  of  the  city  into  a 
vast  double  reservoir,  the  point  of  union  being  crossed  by  a  handsome  brid^Te.  The 
waters  are  beautifully  clear,  and  on  the  day  of  our  visit  were  gay  with  canoes,  row- 


HAMBURG  MARKET  WOMAN. 


ing-boats,  and  tiny  steamers,  while  holiday-makers  promenaded  on  the  broad  quays, 
or  in  the  gardens  near  the  bridge.  Here  stands  a  very  fine  statue  of  Schiller,  the 
first  of  many  such  memorials  that  we  were  to  see  in  Germany,  and  the  one,  perhaps, 
in  which  the  likeness  to  Byron  is  more  marked  than  any  other.  It  is,  however,  a 
likeness  exalted  and  spiritualized  by  a  purer  genius.  Among  the  streets  which 
encircle  the  pedestal  of  the  statue  was  a  charming  little  garden,  bright  with  spring 
flowers. 


54 


GL/MPSES  OF  NORTHERN  GERMANY. 

We  saw  in  the  city  a  few  market-women  witii  their  singular  costume,  which  here, 
as  in  other  towns  of  Germany,  is,  to  a  great  extent,  being  discontinued,  to  the  loss 
of  much  picturesqueness,  especially  since  the  change  to  a  commonplace  attire  seems 
to  mean  slovenliness  also.  I  suppose  that  with  anything  like  a  tinifornt,  there  comes 
also  a  pride  in  its  neatness  and  grace  :  it  is  certain  that  the  peasantry  who  retained  the 
old-fashioned  attire  contrasted  most  favorably  with  those  who  had  conformed  to  the 


LL'BECK  :     THE    HOLSTEIN    GAil,. 


modern  indistinguishable  style.  The  fineness  of  the  day,  and  the  holiday  occasion, 
had  brought  out  great  numbers  of  children,  who  walked  or  played  with  true  German 
sedateness.  We  wondered  whether  the  cause  of  what  appeared  to  us  the  unchild- 
like  gravity  was  to  be  traced  to  infancy,  and  to  tiic  lialjit,  which  seemed  universal  at 
Hamburg,  of  wheeling  the  small  occupants  of  the  perambulators  backward,  with 
their  faces  to  the  nurse,  instead  of  frontwise,  as  in  England,  with  liberty  to  look 
about  them  !  It  was  a  characteristic  illustration  of  the  spirit  of  surveillance  that 
begins  with  earliest  life,  culminating  in  universal  drill.  "  Eyes  right"  is  the  word  of 
command,  even  in  infanc\-  ;  and  so  lh(;  shaping  of  the  national  life  may  be  said  to 
begin  in  the  perambulator! 

The  next   point  in   our  journey  was  Berlin,  reachetl  in  the  evening  of  the  same 

57 


GLIMPSES  OF  NORTHERN  GERMANY. 


day  by  rail.  The  journey  suggested  that  in  Northern  Germany,  at  least,  the  chief 
points  of  interest  must  be  sought  in  the  cities,  rather  than  in  the  country.  One 
level  plain  extended  over  the  whole  distance,  a  vast  sandy  expanse,  evidently  once 
the  bed  of  the  sea,  while  it  seemed  as  if  a  slight  change  would  make  it  so  again.  In 
most  places  careful  husbandry  had  done  its  best  with  the  soil  ;  the  expanses  of  scanty 
herbage  were  succeeded  by  fields  of  springing  corn,  or  patches  yellow  with  the  rape- 
seed  flower,  while  woods  of  fir 
and  beech  relieved  the  monotony 
of  the  scene.  On  the  railway 
there  were  no  tunnels,  of  course, 
and  scarcely  a  cutting  or  an  em- 
bankment. I  was  reminded  of 
the  neighborhood  of  Southport, 
in  Lancashire. 

A  junction  for  Liibeck  is 
on  this  line:  the  town  may  also 
be  reached  direct  from  Hamburg, 
and  is  well  worth  a  visit,  preserv- 
ing, as  it  does,  far  more  than  its 
great  rival  city,  the  characteristic 
memorials  of  its  former  great- 
ness. Here  may  be  seen,  as  in 
the  days  when  Liibeck  stood 
chief  among  the  eighty  cities 
of  the  Hanseatic  League,  the 
old  gabled  houses,  the  quaint 
churches  with  their  wonderful 
carvings,  and  the  imposing 
remnants  of  the  fortifications. 
Among  these  the  finest  is  the 
Holstein  Gate,  recently  restored, 
with  its  conically  roofed  round 
towers,  built  of  variegated  brick, 
chielly  red  and  black,  like  most 
of  the  edifices  in  this  vast  sandy 
plain.  The  church  of  St.  Mary, 
also,  with  its  two  timber  spires,  is  a  fine  example  of  the  Gothic  style,  to  which  the 
architects  of  the  thirteenth  and  fourteenth  centuries  in  these  districts  were  led  by 
the  absence  of  stone.  \\\  this  church  there  is  a  "  Dance  of  Death,"  thirty  or  forty 
years  older  than  that  by  Holbein,  and  singularly  illustrating  the  costumes  of  the 
period. 

From  Liibeck,  a  short  railway  journey  leads  to  Rostock,  also  an  old  Hanseatic 
town,  and  still  prosperous  as  the  capital  of  Mecklenburg.  Stralsund,  also,  if  the 
traveler  cares  to  pursue  his  route  along  the  sandy  plain  so  far,  will  be  found  to  excel 
even  these  two  cities  in  curious  quaintness  of  brick  architecture  ;  and  the  pretty 
island  of  Riigen,  reached  from  Stralsund  across  a  narrow  strait,  will  remind  the  Eng- 
lish tourist  of  nothing  so  much  as  the  Isle  of  Wight,  with  its  chalk  cliffs  and  fair 
58 


ROSTOCK  :    THE    STEINTHOR. 


ROSTOCK  :     OLD 


FORTIIICATIONS,    GATE    AND    TOWLR. 


GLIMPSES  OF  NORTHERN  GERMANY. 


wooded  downs,  while  the  primitive  simpHcity  and  piety  of  the  people  are  very  re- 
freshing.     The  Baltic  Sea  is  now  reached,  and  a  visit  to  these  cities,  however  brief. 


TIIK     KAT-CATCIU.I^'S    HOUSK,     UA.MKLN. 


makes  one  feel  how  really  iin[)()rtaiit  to  the  commerce  of  the  world  was  that  Schlcs- 
wig-Holstein  question,  whicli  once  threatened  to  disturb  the  peace  of  Europe,  but 
which  most  people  in  luigland  were  ready  to  give  up,  as  one  of  the  inexplicable 
puzzles  of  a  pedantic  and  litigious  statesmanship.     On  these  sand)'  ilats  is  the  key  to 

6i 


GLIMPSES  OF  NORTHERN  GERMANY. 


the  mercantile  greatness,  perhaps  of  the  old  Hanseatic  towns  resuscitated,  perhaps 
of  cities  yet  unborn. 

Should  there  be  sufficient  time  at  command,  and  the  tourist  not  care  to  \islt  the 
Holstein  and  Mecklenburg  districts,  he  will  find  much  to  attract  him  in  th«  route  by 
Hanover.  This  city  itself,  apart  from  the  interest  which  attaches  to  it  from  its  con- 
nection with  the  ro)-al  house  of  England,  is  handsome,  and  its  situation  may  even  be 
called  beautiful,  at  the  junction  of  two  little  rivers.  The  recent  incorporation  of  the 
kin'^dom  with  Prussia  seems  to  have  rather  stimulated  its  commercial  progress  than 
otherwise,  although  not  a  few  of  the  people  regret,  as  is  natural,  the  "  old  times";  at 
any  rate,  Hanover  is  now  one  of  the  busiest  and  most  thriving  cities  of  North  Ger- 
many. From  Hanover  the  lover  of  the 
picturesque  should  by  all  means  make 
excursions  to  some  of  the  towns  in  the 
neighborhood  ;  as  Hildesheim,  with  its 
old  timbered  houses,  or  Hameln  on  the 
Weser,  famed  for  the  Rat  story,  so  mar- 
velously  told  by  Mr.  Browning.  The 
"Ratcatcher's  House"  still  remains,  and 
t  )  doubt  the  legend — the  fate  of  the 
children  included — is  almost  as  bad  as 
it  would  be  in  the  Four  Cantons  to  throw 
suspicion  upon  the  history  of  William 
Tell.  From  Hanover,  by  Brunswick,  an 
old-fashioned,  quiet  town,  well  meriting  a 
few  hours'  visit  from  the  most  hurried 
tourist,  the  railroad  leads  straight  to 
Berlin. 

Berlin  is  so  familiar  to  many  who 
know  but  little  else  of  Northern  Germany 
that  the  briefest  reference  to  our  visit 
may  suffice.  The  summit  of  the  newly 
erected  Column  of  Victory,  commemora- 
ting the  Franco-Prussian  war,  is  a  good 
place  from  which  to  view  the  city  as  a  whole.  The  monument  stands  a  little  dis- 
tance outside  the  Brandenburg  Gate,  at  the  western  end  of  Unter  den  Linden, 
which  noble  avenue  is  full  in  view,  with  the  stately  buildings  which  close  it  in  at  the 
east  :  palaces,  universities,  museums,  theaters,  surrounding  the  colossal  statue  of 
Frederick  the  Great.  Thence  the  eye  ranges  through  long,  wide,  well-built  streets 
in  every  direction,  until  the  city  melts  into  the  great  plain  beyond.  Immediately 
below  the  monument  extends  the  beautiful  Thiergarten,  with  its  leafy  avenues  now 
clothed  in  all  the  freshness  of  the  spring.  No  city  view  couldt  in  its  way,  be  finer, 
though  one  felt  the  want  of  undulation  and  irregularity.  The  very  architecture  of 
the  city,  with  its  unbroken  straight  lines,  speaks  of  the  universal  drill.  There  is  no 
originality  ;  there  is  no  attempt  even  to  reproduce  the  German  past  ;  all  is  modern 
classic,  or,  if  I  may  say  so,  the  taste  of  Germany  seems  passing  through  a  kind  of 
Georgian  era,  the  Wilhelmstrasse  being  the  Berlin  Regent  Street.  Everywhere  are 
the  evidences  of  growing  wealth  and  conscious  power,  as  of  a  great  nation,  not  unckily 

&2 


STREET    IN    HANOVER. 


GLIMPSES  OF  NORTHERN  GERMANY. 

self-assertive.  There  were  fewer  outward  signs  of  militarism  than  I  had  expected  to 
find;  nor  was  there  anything  like  the  same  arrogance  in  little  matters  as  I  remember 
to  have  noticed  after  the  war  of  1870. 

Frederick  the  Great,  our  own  Carlyle's  hero,  appropriately  enough  holds  the 
chief  place  in  the  city,  by  the  famous  bronze  equestrian  statue  erected  to  his  memory 
in  1 85 1.  The  monument  is  a  very  striking  one,  not  only  for  the  boldness  with  which 
the  artist  has  represented  the  monarch,  "in  his  habit  as  he  lived" — cocked  hat  and 
pigtail,  coronation  robes  and  walking-stick — but  for  the  finish  and  expressiveness  of 


HILDESHEIM  :     OLD    GATE-HOUSE. 


the  sculptures  which  surround  the  pedestal.  One  scries  represents  the  succesbive 
events  of  the  king's  life  from  his  early  education  to  his  imagined  apotheosis  ;  another, 
still  more  striking,  portrays,  in  relief,  his  chief  officers  and  companions  in  arms,  w^ith 
other  illustrious  men  of  his  reign.  The  portraits  are  evidently  accurate  ;  and  the 
successive  groups  into  which  these  personages  are  thrown  are  wonderfully  lifelike. 
In  the  side  of  the  monument  here  shown,  the  figures  to  tiie  right  are  those  of  Kant 
and  Lessing,  so  that  the  claims  of  literature  and  philosophy  are  not  wholly  omitted 
in  this  great  tribute  to  warlike  prowess.  Another  tier  of  the  pedestal  on  three  sides 
contains  names,  to  the  number  of  nearly  a  hundred,  of  soldiers,  statesmen,  and 
scholars  of  the  epoch  ;  the  fourth  bearing  the  inscription  :  "  To  Frederick  the 
Great,  Frederick  William  III,  1840.  CuMrLEXED  under  Frederick  William  IV, 
1851." 

A  little  farther  on,  after  a  hasty  view  of  the  King's  Palace,  the  University  build- 

63 


GLIMPSES  OF  NORTHERN  GERMANY. 

ings  and  other  edifices,  more  imposing  from  their  forming  one  vast  group  than  for 
any  architectural  splendor  which  they  possess  separately,  we  entered  the  Lust-garten, 
"  Pleasure  Garden,"  which  proves  that  those  who  planned  it  took  pleasure  in  the 
extreme  of  symmetry,  neatness,  and  formality.  Thence  we  passed  to  the  Palace 
Bridge,  commanding  a  good  view  up  and  down  the  somewhat  insignificant  river 
Spree,  but  chiefly  noticeable  for  a  series  of  marble  statues  on  the  piers,  intended  to 
glorify  the  life  of  a  warrior,  and  mingling  ancient  mythology  with  modern  ideas  in  a 
very  extraordinary  way.  Mercury  is  seen  instructing  the  youthful  soldier,  and  pre- 
senting him  with  weapons;  Victory  supports  him  when  wounded,  and  crowns  him 


HILDESHEIM  :     CATHEDRAL    CRYPT    AND    OLD    ROSE    TREE. 


when  successful  ;  and,  finally,  Iris  carries  liim  when  slain,  to  Olympus.  It  is  curious 
to  see  all  this  among  the  busy  crowds  of  a  nineteenth-century  city  ;  among  the  gas- 
lamps  and  telegraph-wires,  and  almost  within  sound  of  the  railway-whistle.  The 
cocked  hat  and  walking-stick  of  the  other  statue  were,  after  all,  more  congruous 
with  the  true  idea  of  Art. 

A  hurried  visit  to  the  Museum  was  all  that  could  be  achieved.  The  stately 
building  is  opposite  the  Pleasure  Garden,  the  central  part  of  the  New  Museum,  con- 
nected with  it  behind,  rising  like  a  Grecian  temple  high  in  the  air.  As  we  passed 
under  the  great  Ionic  portico  which  forms  the  entrance,  we  recognized  an  old  friend 
in  Kiss's  Amazon  contending  with  a  Tiger,  well  remembered  as  among  the  chief  orna- 
ments of  the  Hyde  Park  Exhibition  in  1851.  The  galleries  themselves  are  rich  in 
casts,  with  some  fine  sculptures,  and  a  large  number  of  paintings,  which  it  is  no  part 
of  my  plan  to  enumerate,  however  briefly.     We  were,  however,  much  struck  by  the 

64 


111 

< 


Id 

O- 


GLIMPSES  OF  NORTHERN  GERMANY. 

very  full  representation  which  the  galleries  give  of  that  early  form  of  art  which  peo- 
ple now  call  pre-Raphaelite.  The  amount  of  thought  and  skill  thrown  by  the  elder 
painters,  especially  of  sacred  subjects,  into  the  portrayal  of  incongruities,  anachro- 
nisms, impossibilities,  is,  at  least,  a  phenomenon  to  be  accounted  for  by  all  who  hold 
that  they  were  not  actuall)'  fools,  but  had  some  distinct  meaning,  intelligible  enough 


BERLIN  :     STATUE    OF    FREDERICK    THE    GREAT. 


to  themselves  and  their  contemporaries.  In  one  picture,  a  personage  in  modern 
attire,  clad  in  black  doublet  and  hose,  kneels  in  the  grotto-manger  at  Bethlehem, 
before  the  Infant  Saviour  in  His  mother's  arms,  with  Joseph  kneeling  on  the  other 
side  ;  in  another,  our  Lord  converses  with  the  woman  of  Samaria,  the  two  sitting  by 
a  great  marble  basin,  such  as  may  be  seen  in  any  Italian  town.  A  hill  and  valley, 
unmistakably  Italian  too,  with  a  broad  lake  or  river,  form  the  background  on  one 
side,  while  on  the  other  the  twelve  disciples,  their  heads  all  close  together,  are  seen 
coming  through  a  wood  to  the  spot.  Did  the  painter  really  believe  that  such  was 
the  external  aspect  of  the  interview  ?     Then,  again,  in  many  of  these  pictures,  the 

67 


GLIMPSES  OF  NORTHERN  GERMANY. 

backgrounds  are,  to  us,  grotesque — hardly  more  like  hills  or  trees  than  a  child's  first 
attempts — out  of  proportion,  out  of  character,  mere  conventionalities  thrown  in. 
Yet  in  these  paintings  there  is  often  true  genius  ;  they  tell  their  tale  very  expres- 
sively, sometimes  very  wonderfully,  though  not  in  our  way.  In  those  early  days, 
when  a  painter  would  place  on  canvas  his  conception  of  the  Divine  story,  he  did  not 
feel  it  necessary  to  travel  to  Palestine  to  encamp  for  weeks  together  in  the  valley  of 
the  Jordan,  nor  did  he  go  to  Nazareth  to  make  a  study  of  the  form  and  fashion  of 
the  tools  in  the  carpenter's  shop.  True,  this  accuracy  of  detail  must  be  good,  when 
there  is  with  it  the  insight  and  vivifying  power  of  genius  ;  to  imitate  in  any  servile 
way  the  ancient  method  would  be  worse  than  absurd.  The  art  of  every  age  has,  so 
to  speak,  its  own  dialect,  and  those  are  wise  who  can  understand  all. 

Among  the  most  ambitious  achievements  of  modern  painting,  as  here  represented, 
are  the  six  wall-paintings  designed  by  Kaulbach,  and  intended  to  represent  the  great 
cycles  of  human  history,  as  illustrating  the  law  of  progress.  The  series  begins  with 
the  dispersion  of  mankind.  Nimrod  appears  in  the  center,  as  smitten  by  supernal 
power  and  perishing  amid  the  ruins  of  his  ambitious  work  ;  his  master  builder  is 
stoned  by  an  angry  crowd  ;  and  the  three  great  divisions  of  the  human  race  appear 
as  if  hastily  grouped  for  departure  ;  the  children  of  Shem,  with  their  flocks,  a  beauti- 
ful group,  occupying  one  side  of  the  painting  ;  the  graver,  statelier  group  of  Japhet- 
ites  the  other.  The  second  picture  attempts  to  represent  the  rise  of  classic  civiliza- 
tion. Above,  the  gods  of  Greece  are  on  their  rainbow  thrones  ;  below,  a  noble  vessel 
approaches  the  shore,  with  Homer  in  its  prow.  As  he  sings,  poets,  philosophers, 
statesmen,  warriors  listen  ;  and  the  multitude  are  attracted  in  reverential  awe.  The 
third  epoch  chosen  is  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem,  an  awful  scene  of  bloodshed  and 
despair.  The  victorious  army  advances  with  triumphant  ferocity  ;  in  the  foreground 
the  high  priest,  having  slain  his  family,  is  inflicting  the  fatal  blow  upon  himself  ;  to 
the  left  of  the  picture  the  fabled  Wandering  Jew  flees  in  a  wild  frenzy,  and  on  the 
right  a  company  of  Chrisdans  are  seen  escaping,  beneath  angelic  guardianship. 
This  last  group  is,  perhaps,  the  most  beautiful  in  all  three  pictures.  Next  we  see 
the  Battle  of  the  Huns,  a  wild,  poetic  picture.  Rome  itself  is  in  the  background. 
Attila  brandishes  his  scourge  ■  and,  according-  to  the  legfend,  the  hosts  of  the  dead 
rise  and  renew  their  combat  in  the  air.  The  fifth  picture  illustrates  the  Middle 
Ages,  with  their  poetry  and  chivalry,  and  above  all,  with  the  Crusades,  which  held 
so  important  a  part  in  shaping  the  life  of  modern  Europe.  Godfrey  of  Bouillon  at 
the  head  of  the  exulting  host,  having  won  the  crown  of  Jerusalem,  presents  it  to  the 
Saviour  King,  while  minstrels  sing  of  the  great  victory.  But,  w^hatever  may  be 
thought  of  this  illustration  of  human  progress,  there  can  be  no  doubt  respecting  the 
applicability  of  the  next  and  last,  a  really  splendid  picture  symbolizing  the  Reforma- 
tion era.  In  a  vast  cathedral,  Luther  holds  up  an  open  Bible.  Beside  him  is  a 
group  of  Reformers,  including  Melanchtlion,  Zwingli,  and  Calvin.  Wycliffe,  John 
Hus,  and  other  pioneers  of  the  Reformation  surround  them.  The  monarchs  and 
great  generals  who  befriended  the  Reformation  form  another  group,  chief  among 
them  Elizabeth  of  England,  Gustavus  Adolphus  of  Sweden,  and  Coligny  of  France. 
And  lastly,  the  aisles  of  the  cathedral  are  occupied  by  those  men  of  science,  artists 
and  great  thinkers,  who,  in  their  various  ways,  aided  the  emancipation  of  the  human 
intellect  :  Copernicus,  Galileo,  and  Newton  ;  Christopher  Columbus  and  John  Guten- 
burg ;  Shakespeare,  Dante,  and  Cervantes  ;  Raphael  and  Leonardo  da  Vinci,  Durer 

68 


GLIMPSES  OF  NORTHERN  GERMANY. 

and  Holbein,  with  many  more.  This  picture  is  more  realistic  than  the  rest,  with  all 
its  anachronisms,  but  is,  perhaps,  the  most  attractive  of  the  series.  The  whole  form 
a  wonderfully  poetic  interpretation  of  history,  and  deserve  far  more  attention  and 
study  than  I  was  able  to  bestow. 

The  events  of  modern  time  have  made  the  metropolis  of  the  German  Empire 
one  of  the  most  interesting  of  cities  to  all  who  are  concerned  for  the  progress  of  man- 
kind. And,  turning  from  the  strange  union  of  militarism  and  culture  which  it  pre- 
sents,— as  if,  for  the  first  time  in  the  history  of  the  world,  the  Ronian  force  of  arms 
and  the  Greek  power  of  thought  existed  in  their  highest  realization  side  by  side, — 
the  Christian  observer  cannot  but  ask  what  may  be  hoped  as  regards  the  future  from 
the  religion  of  the  people.  I  do  not  mean  their  theology,  or  rather  the  theology  of 
the  professors  in  their  universities.  These  are  of  different  schools  enough,  as  all  the 
world  knows;  and  while  there  is  much  thinly  disguised  deism  under  the  garb  of  "lib- 
eral Christian  thought,"  there  is  also  much  of  that  earnest  evangelical  spirit  which 
found  its  highest  expression  in  the  teachings  of  Tholuck,  and  which  still  lives  at 
Leipsic  in  the  lectures  and  conversation  of  Delitzsch.  The  contributions  of  many 
German  critics  to  the  true  and  deep  interpretation  of  Scripture,  have  been  far  too 
important  and  precious  to  be  set  aside  by  any  wholesale  condemnation.  But  as 
regards  the  people  at  large,  what  are  the  hopes  that  may  be  formed  from  the  con- 
dition of  the  pulpit  and  the  Church  ?  Superficially,  the  answer  that  must  be  given 
to  this  question  seems  most  portentous.  It  has  been  said  recently,  I  know  not  on 
what  authority,  that  only  seventeen  per  cent,  of  the  population  of  Berlin  are  atten- 
dants, however  occasionally,  on  public  worship ;  and  it  is  certain  that  the  supply  of 
religious  instruction  is  quite  inadequate  to  the  needs  of  the  people.  Yet  there  is  a 
more  hopeful  side.  I  had  some  conversation  with  a  very  thoughtful  and  competent 
observer  of  the  state  of  the  city,  who  spoke  from  long  and  intimate  knowledge  of 
every  phase  of  its  religious  life.  "The  population,"  he  said,  "had  quite  outgrown 
the  means  of  religious  instruction.  The  school  equals  their  advance,  but  the  Church 
lags  behind.  There  is,  in  fact,  no  adequate  religious  provision  for  the  people." 
"  But  if  the  National  Church  thus  fail,  may  not  other  bodies  take  up  the  work,  as  in 
England,  and  supply  the  need  ?"  "  Partly,  but  very  slightly,  they  do  so  ;  but,  remem- 
ber, Germany  is  not  England.  For  one  thing,  there  is  not  the  same  religious  free- 
dom :  baptism,  and  even  confirmation,  are  made  national  matters,  and  until  lately 
were  practically  compulsory.  But  even  if  there  were  full  freedom,  the  habit  of  drill 
is  so  inveterate  with  the  Germans,  that  very  few  of  them,  even  under  the  impulse  of 
the  strongest  conviction,  will  get  out  of  step  with  the  rest.  So,  what  have  the  various 
missions  and  denominations  done?  Some  of  them  have  worked  very  nobly  ;  the 
Baptists  have  probably,  by  this  time,  about  twenty  thousand  members  in  Germany  ; 
then  there  are  the  Wcsleyan  Methodists,  and  the  American  Presbyterians,  each  of 
which  bodies  is  doing  good  in  Berlin  ;  but  at  the  best  there  are  but  a  few  score  of 
thousands  in  a  population  of  forty  millions  !  No,  the  growth  of  a  true  religious 
belief  and  life  in  this  great  people  must  be  from  within  their  own  Church  ;  and  this, 
as  it  gathers  strength,  will  be  potent  enough  to  break  through  old  forms,  and  to 
workout  new  ones  for  itself."  "But  are  there  any  signs  of  this?"  "Well,  there 
are — partly  in  the  great  attention  that  is  paid  to  the  study  of  the  Bible.  The  edu- 
cated youth  of  Prussia  know  the  Scriptures  to  an  extent  which  might  surprise  you. 
The   common  schools,  of  which  there  is  one  now  in  every  village,  are  doing  a  great 

71 


GLIMPSES  OF  NORTHERN  GERMANY. 

work  for  the  young,  that  will  yet  bear  marvelous  fruit  ;  and  the  growth  of  the  Sun- 
day-school system  in  Germany  of  late  years  is  extraordinary  ;  while  there  is,  after  all, 
much  very  faithful  and  powerful  exposition  of  Bible  truth  in  German  pulpits."  "  But 
is  there  not  an  alarming  growth  of  popular  infidelity?"  "True  ;  but  you  are  now 
touching  upon  a  different  question.  The  infidelity  which  is  spreading  among  the 
working  classes  is  not  what  we  term  rationalism  at  all ;  it  is  just  atheism,  the  out- 
growth, in  fact,  of  social  democracy ;  a  protest  against  society  as  it  exists.  Striving 
after  social  equality,  disdaining  the  thought  of  a  ruler,  men  strike  at  the  great  Ruler 
of  all,  as  the  presumed  head  of  a  system  by  which  they  feel  themselves  oppressed." 


PALACE  OF  THE  CROWN  PRINCE,  BERLIN. 


"  Then  there  is  no  deliberate  rejection  of  Scriptural  teaching,  on  the  ground  of  dis- 
satisfaction with  its  evidence,  and  the  like  ?"  "  Oh  no  ;  none,  or  very  little  ;  it  is  just 
rebellion  against  the  Supreme  Authority ;  and  in  our  religious  appeals — appeals  to 
the  heart  and  conscience^ — -we  must  leave  it  on  one  side.  I  do  not  say  that  it  is  not  a 
great  danger  ahead  of  all  of  us,  in  Church  and  State ;  but  we  may  go  forward  hope- 
fully, in  our  own  way,  preaching  the  gospel  and  teaching  the  truths  of  Scripture  in 
spite  of  it." 

My  friend  closed  the  deeply  interesting  conversation,  of  which  the  above  Is  but 
an  outline,  by  referring  me  to  some  words  of  his,  written  three  or  four  years  since, 
and  incorporated  in  the  Report  of  the  British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society  for  1877. 
The  remarks  seem  too  valuable  and  just  not  to  reproduce  here. 

"  The  Germany  of  1876  differs  widely  from  that  of  1856.     Then  Frankfort  was 

72 


;4 


MOXUME.NT    Of    VICTORV,    TH  lEKO  ARTEN,    BERLIN, 


GLlAfPSES  OF  NORTHERN  GERMANY. 

its    political    capital,  and    Prague,  Vienna,   Salzburg,  and   Innsbruck  were  German 
cities  ;    it    comprised    thirty-five    states,  with  a  population    of   44,000,000,  and    the 
Emperor  of    Austria  was    at    its    head.      Now,  on    the  contrary,   Bohemia,  Austria 
Proper,  the    Tyrol,  and  Luxemburg  are  no  part  of    Germany,  while  the  excluded 
Prussian  provinces,  with  Schleswig,  Alsace,  and  Lorraine,  have  been  taken  in  ;  the 
thirty-five  states  have  been  reduced  to  twenty-six,  and  the  population  to  42,000,000. 
The  King  of  Prussia  is  German  Emperor  ;  the  old  College  of  Ambassadors,  which 
used  to  sit  at  Frankfort,  is  replaced  by  a  National  Parliament  meeting  at  Berlin  ; 
the  new  order  of  things  has  given  to  Germany  a  common  army,  a  common  coinage, 
and  almost  a  common  post ;  and  the  German  Fatherland,  which  was  formerly  a  patriotic 
fiction,  is  now  what  the  people  proudly  call  '  a  world-historical  fact.'     The  bearing  of 
these  political  changes  upon  the  Society's  work  has  been  marked  ;  they  have  been 
made  to  serve  the  interests  of  God's  kingdom.     Twenty  years  ago  Austria,  followed 
by  Wiirtemburg  and  Baden,  bound  herself  by  her  Concordat  to  the  Papal  See  ;  in 
Prussia  the  Romish  hierarchy  had  a  freedom  surpassing  that  which  they  enjoyed 
even  in  Catholic  lands ;  the  Jesuits  flooded  the  country ;  and  the  German  bishops 
used  to  meet  periodically  in  secret  session  in   Fulda,  at  the  grave  of  St.  Boniface. 
Influences  such  as  these  thwarted  the  efforts  of  the  society  almost  everywhere  out  of 
Prussia  :  and  in  most  of  the  smaller  kingdoms  and  states  colportage  was  rendered 
impracticable.      Now  all  is  changed.     The  wars  of   1859  ^"<^   ^864  shook  Austrian 
ascendency  in  Germany,  and  that  of  1866  destroyed  it.     The  concordats  and  conven- 
tions are  all  abrogated  ;  the  freedom  of  the  bishops  in  Prussia  is  transformed  into  a 
subjection,  perhaps  too  rigorous  ;  the  whole  land  has  been  gradually  opened  by  legis- 
lation or  negotiation,  and  the  Society  has  been  permitted  to  enter  and  take  posses- 
sion in  her  Master's  name.     The  workers  in  1856  were  four — Dr.  Pinkerton,  Captain 
Graydon,   Mr.    N.   B.   Millard,  and  Mr.   Edward    Millard.     Of    these,  the  last  only 
remains,  and  he  has  returned  to  the  field  in   Eastern   Europe,   from  which  he  had 
been  expelled.      Mr.  Davies  was  sent  early  in  1857  to  succeed  Dr.  Pinkerton,  and  in  his 
hands  the  superintendence  of  the  Bible  Society's  operations  in  Germany  and  Switzer- 
land has  since  then  been  concentrated.      The  work  of  this  large  agency  has  shown 
steady  development.     The  circulation  of  198,000  in  1856  has  risen  to  339,039  ;  while, 
as  is  well  known,  in  the  year  of  the  Franco-German  war  it  exceeded  a  million  copies. 
This  progress  is  none  the  less  satisfactory,  if  viewed  in  relation  to  the  work  of  the 
native  societies,  whose  energies,  instead  of  being  paralyzed,  have  been  greatly  stimu- 
lated by  British  enterprise.     The   Prussian    Bible  Society  may  be  taken  as  a  con- 
venient standard  of  comparison,  because  it  depends  upon  itself,  and  draws  no  books 
from  other  sources.      Between  the    years    1804    and   1831   the  British  and  Foreign 
Bible  Society  had  an  average  circulation  yearly  of  11,280  German  Scriptures  ;  while 
the  Prussian  Bible  Society,  with  its  auxiliaries,  which  in  this  same  period  received 
aid  from  the  funds  of  this  society  to  the  extent  of  $300,000,  had  an  average  annual 
circulation  of  17,644.      In  the  next  period,  reaching  to  1847,  during  which  no  more 
money  grants  were  made,  and  this  Society  had  its  own  agent  but  no  colporteurs,  its 
yearly  average  was  47,677  copies,  and  that  of  the  Prussian  Bible  Society  60,964.      In 
1847  '1  "G"^^  6'"'^  began   in   the  operations  of    the  British  society;  colporteurs  were 
appointed,  and  by  the  end  of  March,  1876,  the  issues  had  been  increased  to  9.147,- 
120,  giving  an  annual  average  of  349,900.     The  increase  on  the  German  side  was  in 
nothing  like  the  same  ratio,  but  still  an  advance  was  made  to  94,680,  which  was  the 

75 


GLIMPSES  OF  NORTHERN  GERMANY. 

more  noteworthy  as  the  circulation  of  Bibles  and  Testaments,  in  the  case  of  the 
Prussian  society,  is  as  3  to  i,  while  with  us  the  reverse  holds  good,  if  to  Testaments 
we  add  portions. 

"  It  is  worth  while  also  to  view  this  progress  in  its  bearing  on  the  growth  of 
religious  life  ;  for  Bible  work  is  not  an  end  in  itself,  but  is  of  value  only  as  it  pro- 
motes virtue  and  godliness  in  a  land.  In  1856  there  were  few  if  any  Sunday  Schools 
in  the  English  sense  of  the  word,  in  connection  with  the  Established  or  other 
Churches  of  Germany  ;  whereas  in  1877  their  numbers  exceed  1300,  with  more  than 
5000    teachers,  and  about   100,000  scholars.      There  were  then  but  two   Christian 


THE    PALACE,    POTSDAM. 


homes  for  artisans  and  journeymen  mechanics;  now  there  are  about  130,  in  which 
hundreds  of  thousands  of  workingmen  are  lodged  every  year,  and  for  the  time 
screened  from  the  foul  moral  atmosphere  of  the  cheap  lodging-houses.  In  1856  the 
eight  German  Missionary  Societies  (including  that  of  Basel)  had  143  stations  and  an 
income  of  $236,000;  in  1876  they  had  298  stations  and  an  income  of  half  a  million. 
Home  missions  in  their  present  organized  form  arose  only  seven  years  prior  to  1856  ; 
they  have  since  then  spread  over  the  land  a  vast  network  of  institutions  for  the  suc- 
cor of  the  tempted,  the  reclaiming  of  the  fallen,  the  nursing  of  the  sick,  the  shelter  of 
the  aged,  and  the  reconciliation  of  classes  socially  estranged.  It  is  not  pretended 
that  all  these  are  the  direct  fruit  of  this  Society's  work  ;  yet  there  is  no  branch  of 
this  manifold  activity  with  which  it  has  not  co-operated,  as  the  Asylum,  the  Hospital, 
the  Refuge,  the  Sunday  School,  the  Deaconesses'  Homes,  and  all  the  other  institu- 
tions can  abundantly  testify.  '  I  know'  says  Mr.  Davies,  'the  shadows  of  German 
76 


GLIMPSES  OF  AOKTUERS  GERMANY. 


and  Swiss  religious  life.  They  are  deep  and  dark  enough.  New  clouds  even  are 
visible,  black  as  the  blackest  of  those  already  on  the  sky.  But  behind  the  clouds 
there  is  light,  and  between  them  shoots  forth  the  cheering  ray.  The  glory  which  we 
see  is  glory  not  departing,  but  advancing  ;  and  the  Bible  societies,  our  own  at  their 
head,  are  playing  no  unimportant  part  in  accelerating  the  advance.'" 


WITTENBERG  :     MARh.ET-FI.ACE,  WITH    LUTHER    AND    MAI.ANCHTHON    STATUES. 


It  would  have  been  interestinc:  to  visit  Potsdam  Palace  and  pardons,  the  Vcr- 
sailles  of  Berlin,  but  a  stronger  attraction  drew  us  to  Wittenberg,  a  little  town  not  to 
be  passed  by,  seeing  that  beyond  all  other  German  cities  it  is  associated  with  the 
work  of  Luther.  There  is  another  Wittenberg,  generally  for  distinction  spelled  Wit- 
tenberge,  between  Hamburg  and  Berlin  ;  and  this  has  sometimes  been  taken  by  trav- 
elers as  the  site  of  Luther's  Universit)-,  in  which,  also,  according  to  our  dramatist, 
Hamlet,  Prince  of  Denmark,  studied  once  upon  a  time.  We  did  not  expect,  how- 
ever, that  we  should  be  shown  Hamlet's  rooms,  as  Juliet's  tomb  is  actually  shown  at 
Verona  ;  and  were  simply  intent  therefore  on  memorials  of  Luther  and  his  associate 

77 


GLIMPSES  OF  XOR'IHERN  GERMANY. 

Melanchthon,  when  we  alighted  at  the  little  country  station.  The  town  was  reached 
after  ten  minutes'  walk  along  a  pleasant  road,  in  which  is  to  be  seen  an  oak,  planted 
on  the  spot  where  Luther  burned  the  Pope's  bull.  The  town  we  found  to  consist 
chiefly  of  one  long  street,  opening,  about  half-way  up,  into  a  wide  market-place,  which 
on  the  day  of  our  visit  was  crowded  by  country  people  offering  the  produce  of  their 
farms  and  srardens.  It  was  amusing  to  note  their  various  costumes,  and  to  listen  to 
their  lively  provincial  talk  ;  but  our  attention  was  soon  fastened  on  two  fine  bronze 
statues,  near  each  other,  in  the  open  space,  each  under  its  Gothiccanopy;  with  admir- 
able fidelity  and  spirit  portraying  Luther  and  Melanchthon.  On  the  pedestal  of 
each  is  a  characteristic  motto,  that  on  Luther's  being  a  couplet  of  his  own  : 

Ist's  Gottes  Werk,  so  wircl's  bestehn, 
Ist"s  Menschenwerk,  vvird's  untergehn. 


LUTHER  S    ROOM,    WITTENBERG 


"  If  it  is  God's  work,  it  will  endure  ;  if  it  is  man's  work,  it  will  perish  "  ;  while  that 
on  Melanchthon's  is  the  text  of  Scripture,  "  Endeavoring  to  keep  the  unity  of  the 
Spirit  in  the  bond  of  peace."  At  the  end  of  the  town  we  reached  the  Schlosskirche, 
a  large  building  with  a  tower,  plain  and  unpretending  enough,  but  forever  famous 
as  the  church  on  whose  door  Luther  nailed,  on  the  31st  of  October,  151 7,  his  ninety- 
five  theses  against  the  doctrine  of  indulgences  and  similar  corruptions  of  the  truth. 
That  challenge  from  the  brave  young  Wittenberg  professor  was  the  critical  point  in 
the  Reformation.  It  would  have  been  something  to  seethe  veritable  doors  to  which 
the  document  was  fastened,  but  these  were  destroyed  in  1813  by  the  French  ;  and  in 
place  of  them  a  pair  of  bronze  gates  have  been  set  up,  very  finely  executed,  with  the 
theses  in  the  original  Latin  text  engraved  upon  them.  In  the  church  were  buried 
both  Luther  and  Melanchthon,  but  we  could  not  see  their  tombs,  as  the  building  was 
closed,  a  notice  at  the  door  stating  that  the  keys  might  be  had  on  applying  at 
Luther's  house,  at  the  other  end  of  the  town,  which  we  had  passed  in  entering  from 
the  station.  It  is  a  pity  that  our  excellent  guide-books,  Murray  and  Baedeker,  had 
78 


GLIMPSES  OF  NORTHERN  GERMANY. 


omitted  to  mention  this  fact,  as  many  visitors,  like  ourselves,  might  have  only  time 
to  spare  between  one  train  and  another.  The  apartments  of  Luther  in  the  old  uni- 
versity are  kept  much  as  when  he  occupied  them,  and,  we  thought,  had  a  delightful 
air  of  quiet  and  "  learned  leisure,"  looking  out  upon  a  pleasant  close,  which  might 
have  been  a  quadrangle  of  one  of  the  smaller  colleges  at  Oxford  or  Cambridge.  In 
the  room  where  Luther  wrote,  his  table,  massive  and  worm-eaten,  still  remains,  also 
his  library  chair,  and  in  a  glass  case  the  jug  from  which  he  used  to  drink,  a  piece  of 
embroidery  wrought  in  gold  thread  by  Catherine  his  wife,  with  a  few  MSS.  and  books. 
In  the  adjoining  lecture-room  is  his  professor's  desk,  on  one  side  of  which  is  his  full- 
length  portrait,  on  the  other,  that  of  Melanchthon.  These  portraits  are  remarkably 
fine  ;  and  the  fidelity  of  Luther's  is  attested  also  by  a  cast  of  his  head,  taken  after 
his  death,  and  hanging  up  in  one  of  these  apartments. 

The  University  of  Wittenberg  exists  no  longer,  having  been  incorporated,  in 
1817,  with  that  of  Halle.  A  theological  college  now  occupies  part  of  the  building, 
while  another  is  set  apart  as  a 
school,  from  which,  as  we  were 
standing  in  Luther's  study,  the 
voices  of  many  children  sud- 
denly rose  in  sweet  harmony, 
singing  a  German  chorale.  No- 
thing could  have  more  beauti- 
fully fallen  in  with  the  associa- 
tions of  tlie  scene. 

A  short  railway  journey 
brought  us  to  Leipsic,  one  of 
the  great  centers  of  both  com- 
mercial activity  and  intellectual 
life  in  German)-.  Its  fairs  are 
famous  all  over  the  world  ;  but 
our  visit  was  at  a  comparatively 
quiet  time.     Still  the  aspect  (jf 

the  narrow  streets  was  one  of  busy  life,  beyond  what  we  had  yet  seen,  and  the  great 
book-shops  in  particular  were  very  attractive.  The  Tauchnitz  editions  of  English 
books  are  so  famous  all  over  the  Continent,  and  are  really  so  inestimable  a  boon  to 
British  travelers,  that  we  had  anticipated  with  much  pleasure  the  opportunity  of 
laying  in  a  stock  at  their  very  headquarters.  So,  after  some  difficulty,  we  made  our 
way  to  the  place,  only  to  find,  to  our  disappointment,  that  the  books  there  produced 
are  not  sold,  excepting  to  booksellers.  There  is  no  shop  bearing  the  name  of  Baron 
von  Tauchnitz,  though  we  had  expected  this  to  be  one  of  the  glories  of  Leipsic. 
It  was  something,  however,  to  have  visited  the  place  from  which  this  immense  mass 
of  English  literature  emanates;  for  if  we  take  the  quality  as  well  as  the  quantity  of 
the  issues  into  consideration,  this  admirable  Baron  is  by  far  the  greatest  publisher  in 
the  world  of  English  books.  His  thousandth  volume,  the  New  Testament,  edited 
by  the  late  Von  Tischendorf,  with  the  various  readings  of  the  chief  ancient  manu- 
scripts, is  a  book  of  the  highest  value,  and  one  which,  as  there  is  no  difficulty 
about  its  circulation  in  England,  should  be  in  every  Christian  household  that 
speaks    our    mother    tongue.       Familiarity  with    this    book    will    be,  among    other 

79 


AUGUSTINIAN    MONASTERY,    WITTENBERG. 


GL/J//'SES  OF  NORTHERX  GERMANY. 

advantages,  a  most  excellent  preparation   for  the   Revised  Version   published  a   few 
years  ago. 

The  Museum  at  Leipsic  interested  us  chiefly  by  some  fine  Murillos,  and  bv  a 
splendid  collection  of  engravings,  historically  arranged,  and  evidently  deserving  pro- 
longed study.  For  the  rest,  the  sights  of  the  town  were  soon  exhausted  ;  nor  is 
there  anything  very  remarkable  in  its  public  buildings,  except  for  the  way  in  which 
the  theater  towers  above  everything  else,  in  the  very  center  of  the  place  ;  its  terrace, 
in  the  rear,  commanding  some  wide  and  lovely  public  gardens  with  a  pleasant  lake, 
which  occupy  the  place  of  the  old  city  ramparts,  and  must  be  a  great  attraction  to 
the  inhabitants.     The  front  of  the  theater,  with  imposing  Corinthian  portico,  looks 


RATHHAUS,    LEIPSIC. 

upon  the  Augustus  Platz,  a  vast  open  square,  which  to  us  looked  very  empty,  and  a 
great  contrast  to  the  picturesque  and  lively  Markt-Platz  in  another  part  of  the  town, 
with  its  quaint  old  buildings,  and  gabled  Rathhaus,  with  singular  tower.  But  there 
are  times  when  the  Augustus  Platz  also  teems  with  busy  life.  The  great  Easter  fair 
brings  to  Leipsic  the  representatives  of  all  the  chief  booksellers  in  Europe.  And  the 
"  Christmas-Tree  Fair,"  of  more  local  and  domestic  interest,  is  a  great  sight  for  the 
visitor. 

A  short  railway  journey  took  us  from  Leipsic  to  Dresden,  traversing  first  the 
great  plain,  where,  in  October,  1813,  the  army  of  Napoleon  was  not  so  much  defeated 
as  overwhelmed  by  the  forces  of  Austria,  Russia,  and  Prussia,  after  three  days'  tre- 
mendous and  sanguinary  conflict.  The  Germans  called  the  battle  of  Leipsic  the 
VolkcrschlacJit,  the  *'  Conflict  of  Nations."  A  small  iron  obelisk  marks  the  spot 
where  the  three  sovereigns,  who  had  rolled  back  the  tide  of  invasion  from  Eastern 
Europe,  met  at  the  close  of  the  memorable  struggle.  Few  other  monuments  of  the 
battle  remain,  save  the  tombs  of  one  and  another  warrior  in  village  churches,  and  the 
mounds  that  cover  the  nameless  dead. 

80 


GLIMPSES  OF  NORTHERN  GERMANY. 

There  are  two  lines  to  Dresden,  one  of  them  passing  Meissen,  an  old  town  on 
the  Elbe,  where  the  "  Dresden  china"  manufacture  was  first  introduced,  and  is  still 
carried  on  at  the  Royal  Porcelain  Manufactory — a  place  well  worth  visiting.  The 
Albrechtsburg,  the  castle  which  commands  the  town  from  a  rocky  height,  loner  the 
residence  of  the  Saxon  princes,  has  recently  been  restored.     Our  illustration  shows  it 


LEIPSIC  :     ST,    NICHOLAS    CHURCH. 


in  its  winter  aspect.  Beside  it  stands  the  cathedral,  the  finest  Gothic  church  in  Sax- 
ony, with  a  tower  and  spire  two  huntlrcd  and  tifty-four  feet  high.  It  was  long  the 
burial-place  of  the  Saxon  princes,  whose  monumental  brasses  are  many  of  them 
exquisitely  wrought  ;  among  them  being  Ernest  and  Albert,  the  heroes  of  the /•;-/«- 
zciiraiib,  so  graphically  related  by  Carlyle.  A  Descent  from  the  Cross,  by  L. 
Cranach,  in  the  Princes'  Chapel,  introduces  the  portrait  of  Martin  Luther.  P'rom 
the  tower  of  the  cathedral  tiic  view  of  the  valley  of  the  Elbe  is  magnificent. 

Dresden  is  in  many  respects  one  of  the  most  attractive  cities  of  Europe.     Its 
external  aspect  is  striking,  especially  when  viewed  from  the  bridge  which  separates  the 

83 


GLIMPSES  OF  NORTHERN  GERMANY. 

Old  from  the  New  Town.  The  Elbe  rushes  swiftly  by.  Toward  the  right  towers 
the  Roman  Catholic  Cathedral,  or  Court  Church,  with  its  heavy  and  somewhat 
ungraceful  Italian  ornamentation  ;  and  beyond  is  the  great  pile  of  the  palace  build- 
ings ;  while,  farther  still,  but  out  of  sight  in  our  view,  is  the  imposing  theater;  on 
the  left  a  flight  of  steps  leads  to  the  Brtihl  Terrace,  a  charming  promenade  command- 
ing the  river,  behind  which  is  seen  the  dome  of  the  Frauenkirche,  Our  Lady's 
Church,  where  the  national  or  Lutheran  form  of  worship  is  now  celebrated.  For 
Saxony  is  remarkable  in  this,  that  while  the  royal  family  is  Roman  Catholic  the 
people  are  Protestant.  There  is  a  mutual  understanding  to  tolerate  each  other  ; 
although  it  cannot  be  said  that  the  situation  is  accepted  on  either  side  without  some 
uneasiness.  In  the  upper  part  of  the  Old  Town  is  the  English  church,  with  a  pretty 
spire,  the  gift  of  the  Goschen  family.  On  the  Sunday  which  we  spent  in  the  city 
there  was  a  large  congregation,  made  up  to  a  great  extent  of  residents,  and  of  the 
young  people  who  have  come  to  Dresden  for  education.  No  city  on  the  Continent 
offers  greater  facilities  to  English  pupils  of  both  sexes;  and  in  none  is  there  an  Eng- 
lish quarter  more  largely  inhabited  by  families  who  have  been  drawn  thither  partly 
by  the  economy  of  living  which  here  is  possible,  and  partly  by  the  artistic  and  liter- 
ary attractions  of  the  place. 

For,  as  every  one  knows,  the  glory  of  Dresden  is  in  its  art  galleries.  These 
we  may  not  attempt  to  describe  ;  it  would  only  be  to  catalogue  a  series  of  world- 
famous  pictures,  which  in  engraving  and  photograph  are  familiar  to  all.  The  build- 
ing that  contains  the  chief  of  these  treasures  occupies  one  side  of  the  Zivingcr,  or  Great 
Court,  built  in  the  early  part  of  last  century,  in  the  florid  rococo  style,  which  was 
then  the  taste,  and  designed  as  the  forecourt  of  a  sumptuous  palace,  which  was  never 
completed.  The  pictures  are  arranged  in  a  long  series  of  rooms  lighted  from  above, 
with  side  courts  ;  the  effect  being  not  to  bewilder  by  a  multiplicity  of  beautiful 
objects  crowded  upon  the  sight  at  once,  but  rather  to  carry  the  spectator  on  from 
one  part  of  the  collection  to  another,  with  ever-fresh  wonder  and  delight.  We  went 
nrst,  as  perhaps  every  visitor  does  on  his  earliest  visit,  to  the  cabinet  where  hangs, 
alone,  the  masterpiece  of  Raphael,  the  Madonna  di  San  Sisto.  After  all  that  has 
been  said  and  written  on  this  incomparable  picture,  it  would  be  impertinent  here  to 
dwell  upon  its  beauties  ;  only  I  must  say,  what  thousands  of  spectators  have  no 
doubt  felt  before,  that,  however  we  may  recoil  from  the  associations  of  mistaken 
reverence  and  false  worship  which  have  attached  to  the  Virgin  Mother,  as  here  por- 
trayed, none  can  resist  the  exquisite  appealing  beauty  of  the  child  faces  that  look 
upon  us  from  the  canvas — whether  of  the  Holy  Babe,  who,  if  a  painter  ca7i  portray 
the  Divine,  is  so  depicted  here  ;  or  of  the  cherub  countenances  that  gaze  upward 
with  simple  and  adoring  reverence  from  the  lower  part  of  the  picture.  These  two 
faces,  in  particular,  seem  to  defy  the  efforts  of  all  copyists — whether  by  painting,  en- 
graving, or  photography — to  reproduce. 

Before  other  world-famous  pictures,  also,  we  were  fain  to  linger.  There  is  the 
Notte  of  Correggio,  where,  in  wondrous  arrangement  of  light  and  shade,  the  manger 
of  Bethlehem  is  illuminated,  as  by  the  glory  of  the  Divine  Child,  while  the  dawn 
breaks  over  the  Eastern  hills.  Here,  too,  by  the  same  artist,  is  the  small  but  lovely 
Recumbent  Magdalen  ;  one  of  the  most  perfect  pictures  ever  painted.  Masterpieces 
of  Paul  Veronese  are  here — the  Adoration  of  the  Magi,  the  Marriage  at  Cana,  and 
the  Supper  at  Emmaus.  Titian's  Tribute  Money  is  also  in  one  of  the  cabinets, 
surely  the  noblest  representation  of  the  Saviour  to  which  art  has  ever  yet  attained. 

84 


S6 


MEISSEN  :     CATHEDRAL    AND    ALBERT'S    TOWER. 


GLIMPSES  OF  NORTHERN  GERMANY. 

A  multitude  of  pictures,  of  lower  aim  than  these  great,  but  after  all,  inadequate 
efforts  to  represent  the  Divine,  hang  around  them  on  the  walls,  some  painful  and 
revolting,  some,  like  those  by  Rubens,  "of  the  earth,  earthy,"  but  many  most  beauti- 
ful. Van  Dyck  has  his  lordly  portraits,  though  not  perhaps  in  such  number  as  in 
Munich  ;  Ruysdael  has  his  landscapes  ;  Teniers,  his  too  realistic  groups  of  village 
boors.  Holbein,  Van  Eyck,  Albert  Durer,  Gerard  Dow,  Rembrandt,  and  other 
great  German  painters  are  largely  represented  ;  the  white  horse  of  Wouvermans 
continually  appears.  Nor  are  the  chief  Italian  artists  absent.  Besides  those  already 
mentioned.  Carlo  Dolce  is  here  with  his  St.  Cecilia,  Guido  Reni  with  an  Ecce  Homo, 
Leonardo  da  Vinci  with  a  Holy  Family  ;  not  to  enumerate  others  of  equal  or  scarcely 
inferior  name.     A  few  of  the  moderns,  also,  are  worthy  to  be  mentioned  with  these 


DRESDEN  :    ENTRANCE    TO    THE    ZWINGER,    AND    THE   STATUE    OF    FREDERICK    AUGUSTUS. 

great  masters  ;  although  it  must  be  confessed  that,  as  a  whole,  the  galleries  devoted 
to  the  later  schools  of  art  are  disappointing. 

We  were  interested  by  a  very  elaborate  painting  of  Julius  Hiibner,  representing 
the  disputation  between  Luther  and  Dr.  Eck,  at  Leipsic,  in  1519.  The  principal 
figures  here  are  grandly  delineated,  while  the  attitude  and  expression  of  the  listen- 
ers on  both  sides  strikingly  indicate  the  various  passions  aroused  by  the  contro- 
versy. We  were  also  much  moved  by  a  large  picture,  familiar  through  engraving,  of 
The  Woman  taken  in  Adultery.  Her  attitude  of  crouching  shame — the  bearing  of 
the  cold,  intolerant,  and  expectant  Pharisees,  the  scorn  of  some  bystanders,  the  half- 
reluctant  sympathy  of  others,  and  the  gracious  pity  of  Him  who,  reading  all  hearts, 
and  forbearing  to  condemn,  said,  "  Go,  and  sin  no  more,"  have  surely  never  been 
more  touchingly  portrayed. 

It  was  with  reluctance  that  we  left  the  gallery,  hoping  to  return,  as  to  an  inex- 
haustible feast.  Other  sights  of  Dresden,  in  themselves  remarkable  on  various  ac- 
counts— some,  indeed,  of  great   beauty  and  instructiveness — had  to  be  much  more 

87 


GLIMPSES  OF  NORTHERN  GERMANY. 


briefly  dispatched.  Among  tliem  was  the  curious  exhibition  of  wealth  stored  up  by 
Saxon  princes  of  former  times,  and  now  collected  in  the  Green  Vault.  Probably 
there  is  no  such  collection  of  treasure  in  Europe  brought  into  one  view.  Its  value  is 
said  to  amount  to  millions  ;  and  the  variety  is  absolutely  dazzling.  First  we  see 
bronzes  of  most  exquisite  finish,  then  innumerable  ivory  carvings,  enamels,  and 
mosaics ;  gold  and  silver  plate,  massive  and  richly  ornamented  ;  precious  stones 
carved  into  the  most  various  and  fantastic  shapes,  jeweled  watches,  jeweled  goblets, 
jeweled  portraits;  groups,  figures,  statuettes  wrought  in  fine  gold  and  silver,  studded 
with  gems  ;  with  emeralds,  sapphires,  rubies,  pearls,  and  diamonds,  set  in  chains  and 
collars,  wrought  into  sword-hilts,  and  artistically  combined  in  a  royal  crown.     The 


DRESDEN  :     BRIDGE    OVER    THE    ELBE. 


riches,  in  truth,  defy  description  ;  if  riches  they  can  be  called  that  lie  idly  there  from 
generation  to  generation.  The  wealth  is  something  to  look  upon  once,  with  much 
admiration  of  a  certain  sort,  yet  without  coveting. 

Other  collections  and  museums  of  the  city  we  must  pass  by — although  the  His- 
torical Museum,  or  Armory,  is  also  in  its  way  wonderfully  fine,  containing  as  it  does  a 
collection  of  weapons  offensive  and  defensive  from  the  ages  of  chivalry  to  the  present 
time,  not  only  for  war,  but  for  the  tournament  and  the  chase.  The  collection  of  fire- 
arms, in  particular,  from  the  rudest  matchlock  of  the  fifteenth  century  to  the  finished 
rifle  of  our  own  times,  is  very  noticeable. 

But  if  any  one  wishes  to  obtain  a  vivid  impression  of  what  war  has  become  in 
our  own  time,  nothing  can  be  better  than  a  visit  to  the  barracks,  which  occupy  an 
elevated  spot  overlooking  the  Elbe  at  a  little  distance  northeast  of  the  city.  Range 
after  range  of  stately  buildings — a  town  in  themselves — seem  capacious  enough  to 
contain  an  army,  yet  they  are  not  too  large,  even  for  that  portion  of  the  Saxon  con- 
tingent which  finds  its  headquarters  at  Dresden.     There  is  probably  nothing  of  the 


GLIMPSES  OF  NORTHERN  GERMANY. 


kind  in  Europe  so  vast  and  complete  ;  it  is  but  a  symptom  of  the  tacit  conviction 
everywhere  prevailing  that  force  is  master  of  mankind.  The  drive  was  beautiful, 
among  wood-covered  hills,  and  slopes  covered  with  vineyards,  with  the  swift  Elbe 
below,  and  glimpses  of  the  "  Saxon  Switzerland  "  in  the  distance.  Crossing  by  a 
ferry,  we  re-entered  Dresden  by  the  Great  Garden,  or  rather,  park — for  it  may  here 
be  noted,  once  for  all,  that  the  "  gardens,"  without  which  no  large  German  town 
would  be  complete,  are  almost  always  what  we  understand  by  parks  ;  there  being 
often  few  or  no  flowers,  but  walks,  shaded  by  trees,  and  open  lawns.  This  of  Dresden 
is  peculiarly  beautiful,  occupying 
about  three  hundred  acres,  and  form- 
ing a  pleasant  resort  for  the  inhabit- 
ants of  all  classes.  There  are  restau- 
rants and  cafes  at  intervals;  and  in 
summer  a  band  plaj's  here  regularly, 
as  at  watering-places  and  holiday  re- 
sorts in  England.  The  numbers  of 
people  that  we  meet,  strolling  in  fam- 
ily groups  or  seated  in  temperate  en- 
joyment on  a  summer's  evening  round 
the  cafes,  is  a  pleasant  sight  to  see  ; 
and,  I  am  bound  to  add,  that  although 
the  favorite  beverage  at  such  times 
and  places  seems  to  be  the  beer  of  the 
country,  in  the  tall,  cylindrical,  foam- 
ing glasses,  which  soon  become  so 
familiar  to  the  sight,  there  is  little  or 
no  apparent  drunkenness.  On  the 
evening  of  a  holiday  I  have  met 
thousands  enjoying  themselves  in 
this  way,  and  have  not  seen  one  the 
worse  for  liquor.  There  is  food  for 
reflection  here  in  all  who  desire  the 
well-being  of  our  own  people. 

From  Dresden,  my  way  toward 
the  southeast  led  through  the  region 
called  Saxon  Switzerland.  The  name 
is  not  very  happily  chosen  ;    partly 

because  it  suggests  some  connection  with  Switzerland  proper,  wiili  wliicli  the  district 
has  nothing  to  do,  and  partly,  also,  because  it  creates  expectations  whicli  will  be  disap- 
pointed. The  little  tract  of  country  in  question  is  not  Switzerland  ;  it  is  not  like  Swit- 
zerland ;  but  it  has  surprising  beauties  of  its  own.  A  few  miles  above  Dresden  the 
Elbe  emerges  from  a  gorge  cut  through  a  giant  sandstone  hilly  range  into  the  open 
plain,  into  which  the  hills  almost  suddenly  sink  down.  ]5ut  in  the  course  of  ages  the 
range  itself  has  been  worn  and  cut  away  wherever  the  rock  was  softest,  so  as  to  leave 
hills  standing,  not  in  the  shapes  caused  by  upheavals,  as  in  mountain  regions  generally, 
but  in  every  variety  of  wild  and  fantastic  form.  Beginning  with  the  river  itself,  we 
see,  on  each  side,  bare  precipices  frowning  sheer  over  the  stream,  or  shelved,  and 
sloping  just  sufficiently  to  retain  the  soil  on  which  hanging  woods  are  clustered. 
These  precipices  are  pierced  at  intervals  by  ravines,  down  which  torrents  come  roar- 

9' 


DRESDEN  :     THK    I'AVll.lUN,    ZWINGEK. 


GLIMPSES  OF  NORTHERN  GERMANY. 

ing  and  leaping  from  the  higher  ground  beyond  ;  every  one  of  these  glens,  especially 
on  the  right,  or  northern  bank  of  the  river,  having  a  beauty  of  its  own  in  the  luxu- 
riance of  herbage  that  springs  among  the  tumbled  masses  of  rock  and  in  the  woods 
that  clothe  the  steep  hill-sides.  Then  between  these  gorges  the  hill-range  itself  is 
broken  into  separate  eminences,  some  standing  sheer  and  columnar,  others  shooting 
up  in  slender  pinnacles  ;  some,  like  the  opposite  heights  of  Konigstein  and  Lilien- 
stein,  forming  vast  solitary  hills  with  precipitous  sides,  and  a  table-land  on  the  sum- 
mit. Here  and  there  bridges  have  been  thrown  from  peak  to  peak  to  facilitate 
access  ;  some  still  remain  ;  the  ruins  of  others  mark  where  robber  lords  of  ancient 
times  had  their  fastnesses  ;  one  or  two  natural  bridges,  in  romantic  positions,  unite 
neighboring  cliffs,  and  on  one  of  the  rocks,  Konigstein,  is  a  fortress  which,  it  is  said, 
precisely  resembles  the  hill-forts  of  India. 

The  tour  of  Saxon  Switzerland  may  easily  be  made  in  three  days,  from  Dresden 
and  back,  either  by  aid  of  the  railway,  which  runs  along  the  left  bank  of  the  river, 
with  stations  at  the  chief  points  of  interest,  or  by  the  steamers  which  ply  between 
Dresden  and  Schandau,  where  the  chief  beauty  of  the  district  ends.  It  will  be  neces- 
sary to  explore  the  wildest  ravines  on  foot  ;  and  the  pedestrian  will  make  a  point  of 
ascending  at  least  one  of  the  highest  hills  for  the  sake  of  the  wonderful  panoramic 
view.  Those  already  mentioned  are  perhaps  the  best  ;  but  the  Bastei,  an  immense 
rock  overhanging  the  right  bank,  some  distance  lower  down,  is  the  most  frequented. 
There  is  a  little  inn  at  the  top,  from  the  belvedere  of  which  the  traveler  commands  a 
view  absolutely  unique  in  Europe,  a  vast  amphitheater  bounded  by  distant  hills  and 
inclosing  countless  lonely  pinnacled  and  castellated  hills,  some  of  shapes  most 
grotesque,  with  gorges  richly  wooded  between,  and  in  the  midst  of  them  the  broad 
and  rapid  Elbe  sweeping  in  a  great  curve  immediately  below. 

The  railway  is  carried  along.the  left  bank  of  the  river  for  the  greater  part  of  the 
distance  to  Praeue,  diverg-ine  a  few  miles  below  that  city  to  the  Moldau,  which  is  a 
tributary  of  the  Elbe. 


92 


SAXON    SWITZERLAND  :     THE    PREIilSCHTHOR,    A    COLOSSAL    NATURAL    ARCH. 


VIENNA  :     ST.    STEPHEN  S    CATHEDRAL. 


04 


VIEW    FROM    THE    CARLSBRUCKE,    PRAGUE. 


PRAGUE     TO     MUNICH,     BY    VIENNA. 


THE  first  walk  througli  Prague,  after  the  journey  from  Dresden,  more  than 
revived  the  impressions  of  novelty  and  strangeness  with  which  one  lands  upon  a 
foreign  shore.  It  seemed  as  though  I  had  passed,  at  a  step,  from  the  Europe  of 
to-day  into  the  mediaeval  times.  The  ancient  gates  and  towers,  the  quaint  houses, 
with  their  fantastic  decorations,  which  line  the  narrow  streets,  the  very  footways, 
wrought  with  blue  and  yellowish  limestone  into  arabesque  patterns,  are  all  more  like 
the  reproduction  of  sixteenth-century  pictures  than  anything  we  have  seen  in  the 
Europe  of  to-day.  The  language,  too,  aids  the  impression  ;  utterly  unlike,  as  it 
seems,  in  words  and  in  construction  to  any  of  our  western  tongues.  It  was. 
absolutely  unrecognizable.  Ndmdsti  for  place  (Platz),  Most  for  bridge,  Chrcxvi  for 
cathedral,  Vchod  for  entrance,  and  so  on  ;  I  had  to  give  it  up !  I  bought  a 
humorous  paper,  and  tried,  by  help  of  the  pictures,  to  understand  the  jokes  ;  but  it 
was  of  no  avail. 

These  Bohemians  seem  very  proud  of  their  language,  too  :  I  have  hardly  ever- 
seen  a  place  where  inscriptions  in  the  vernacular  on  shop  fronts  and  walls  were  more 
abundant,  or  where  there  was  a  greater  display  of  placards  of  every  kind.  A  few  lei- 
surely strolls  through  the  streets  of  Prague  would  have  almost  served  the  purpose  of 
grammar  and  dictionary  ;  especially  as  several  considerate  persons  had  appended 
the  German  equivalent  in  a  side  translation.      I   suspect  that  this  bi-lingual  method 

95 


PRAGUE  TO  MUNICH,  BY  VIENNA. 

is  becoming  more  prevalent  ;  but,  as  it  has  obvious  inconveniences,  it  must  end  in  one 
way.  The  weaker  language  must  succumb,  and  by  the  law  of  survival  of  the  fittest. 
the  German  will  become  universal  in  the  Austrian  Empire,  as  in  those  of  the  north- 
ern federation.  As  it  is,  the  two  languages  are  taught  in  all  the  national  schools  ; 
and  every  one  above  the  poorest  has  to  carry  on  business  in  both,  a  method  which 
may  make  capital  linguists,  but  is  apt  to  be  distracting. 

The  sights  of  Prague  are  chiefly  in  the  streets  ;  and  these,  to  the  stranger,  are 
unfailing  in  their  quaint  attractiveness.  There  is  nothing  very  picturesque  in  the 
costumes  of  the  people,  except,  indeed,  in  the  dress  of  the  police,  a  dark-colored  long 
coat,  with  belt,  and  a  plume  of  dyed  cock's  feathers  in  a  dark  felt  hat.  They  stood 
about  mournfully,  as  having  little  to  do  in  a  busy,  good-tempered,  and  well-conducted 
population.  The  number  of  book-shops  was  remarkable,  in  every  quarter  of  the 
town  ;  the  photographs  in  the  shop  windows  were  literally  innumerable,  and  at  the 
time  of  my  visit,  from  among  the  portraits  of  the  Imperial  Austrian  house,  loyally 
displayed  by  its  Iqyal  Bohemian  subjects,  there  looked  out  everywhere  the  fair  smil- 
ing features  of  the  Belgian  princess,  Stephanie,  whose  happy  betrothal  to  the  Crown 
Prince  had  recently  given  a  new  turn  to  the  old  saying : 

Tu  felix,  Austria,  nube. 

It  is  from  the  Carlsbriicke,  the  ancient  bridge  over  the  Moldau,  that  the  specta- 
tor best  apprehends  how  beautiful  for  situation  is  this  ancient  city.  A  gateway  and 
tower  guards  each  end  of  the  bridge  ;  that  shown  in  the  cut  at  the  head  of  the 
chapter  forms  the  approach  to  the  Kleinseite,  or  "  Small  Side,"  of  Prague,  opposite 
to  the  business  part  of  the  city,  the  Old  and  New  Town.  To  the  right,  a  steep  hill 
is  crowned  by  the  imposing  buildings  of  the  old  palace  of  the  Bohemian  kings,  with 
the  citadel  and  a  great  unfinished  cathedral,  dedicated  to  St.  Veit,  or  Vitus.  An 
ascent  to  the  Acropolis  of  Prague,  as  this  hill  may  truly  be  called,  and  a  walk  along 
the  ramparts  which  inclose  the  Kleinseite,  disclose  some  glorious  views.  The  city 
appears  as  in  a  rocky  basin,  through  the  midst  of  which  the  swift  Moldau  cuts  its 
way  ;  towers  and  spires  arise  in  all  directions  above  the  high-pitched  roofs,  and  the 
summits  of  green  hills  beyond  the  city  walls  here  and  there  suggest  the  memory  of 
great  names  and  historic  deeds.  There  is  the  height  whence  Tycho  Brahe  explored 
the  secrets  of  the  heavens  ;  and  there,  to  turn  to  a  very  different  association,  the  hill 
where  Ziska,  the  blind  Hussite  leader,  bade  defiance  to  the  Emperor  Sigismund. 
On  a  terrace  beneath  the  palace  walls  are  two  small  obelisks,  marking  the  spot  where 
the  imperial  councilors,  Martinitz  and  Slawata,  fell  when  thrown  out  of  the  window 
of  the  council  chamber,  at  the  bidding  of  Count  von  Thurn,  by  the  infuriated 
Protestant  deputies  to  whom  they  had  communicated  the  emperor's  intolerant 
decrees.  Happily,  the  councilors  fell  in  a  soft  place,  and  were  not  injured  ;  their 
secretary,  Fabricius,  who  was  flung  out  after  them,  escaped  equally  unscathed,  and 
was  consoled  afterward  by  the  title  of  Count  von  Hohenfall,  which,  it  has  been  sug- 
gested, might  be  rendered  into  English,  Earl  of  Somersault  ;  but  the  act  was  the 
immediate  occasion  of  the  Thirty  Years'  War,  May  23,  16 18.  And  as  that  memo- 
rable contest  began,  so  it  ended  at  Prague,  1648,  with  the  unsuccessful  attack  on  the 
city  by  the  Swedish  forces,  who  had  mastered  the  Kleinseite,  and  were  advancing  to 
the  bridge,  which  had  been  left  unguarded,  when  a  student  from  a  neighboring  uni- 
versity rushed  out,  lowered  the  portcullis,  raised  the  alarm,  and  held  the  place  until 

96 


D 

0. 


PRAGUE  TO  MUNICH,  BY  VIENNA. 

the  Imperialist  troops  could  rally  and  drive  back  the  Swedes.  This  event  has  its 
monument,  also,  in  the  figure  of  a  student,  in  seventeenth-century  costume,  set  up  in 
the  court  of  the  great  Jesuit  Clementine  College,  close  by  the  bridge. 

In  this  city,  almost  more  than  in  any  other,  one  lives  over  the  great  struggles 
of  the   past,    especially   in   the  various  stages  of  the  mighty  conflict  in  which  the 


PKAGUt  ;     bTATUE    OF    CHARLES    IV. 


Protestants  and  Romanists  of  Europe  appealed  with  such  varying  success  to  the 
weapons  of  earthly  warfare.  The  Reformers  before  the  Reformation  made  here 
their  boldest  stand.  John  Hus  was  Rector  of  the  Prague  University,  and  here  first 
taught  the  doctrines  which  he  had  learned  from  Wycliffe.  After  his  base  betrayal  and 
martyrdom  at  Constance,  141 5,  followed  in  the  next  year  by  that  of  his  friend  Jerome 
of  Prague,  the  standard  of  revolt  was  raised  here  by  the  Hussites,  under  their  blind 
leader  John  Ziska.  He  defeated  the  emperor  beneath  the  walls  of  Prague,  and 
bravely  held  his  own  until  his  death  in  1424.      For  more  than  a  hundred  years  the 


99 


PRAGUE  TO  MUNICH,  BY  VIENNA. 

Strife  of  opinions  continued  between  the  followers  of  Hus  and  the  adherents  of  the 
Papacy.  When  the  great  Reformers  of  the  sixteenth  century  arose,  the  influence  of 
Protestantism  became  for  a  time  permanent  in  Bohemia  ;  but  in  1620  the  Battle  of 
the  White  Hill  turned  the  scale  in  favor  of  the  Papacy.  The  military  genius  of 
Wallenstein  secured  the  advantage  thus  won  to  the  imperial  cause,  and  the  ground 
thus  lost  was  never  regained,  even  with  that  great  general's  reverse  of  fortune.  It 
was  to  Prague  that  Wallenstein,  or,  as  he  is  here  called,  Waldstein,  retired  in  1630, 
when  for  a  time  banished  from  the  emperor's  favor,  and  here  he  lived  in  almost  royal 
state.  Wallenstein's  Palace,  in  the  Kleinseite,  is  still  shown,  and  retains  much  of  its 
former  splendor.  A  hundred  houses,  it  is  said,  were  leveled  to  clear  a  space  for  the 
edifice  ;  the  artists  of  many  lands  were  summoned  to  decorate  it  ;  the  very  stables 
were  sumptuous  with  marble  and  gilding.  Such  were  the  consolations  of  adversity  ; 
but  the  end  soon  came.  The  emperor  found  that  the  general  was  necessary  to  his 
cause,  and  once  again  summoned  him  to  his  side,  less  as  a  servant  now  than  a  master. 
The  battle  of  Liitzen  followed,  when  Gustavus  Adolphus  fell — the  Protestant  cause, 
though  momentarily  victorious,  losing  thus  its  most  trusted  leader.  What  follows 
in  the  history  of  Wallenstein  is  likely  always  to  remain  a  mystery.  Whether  the 
accusation  brought  against  him  of  treason  to  the  emperor  was  just,  and  by  whose 
secret  orders,  if  by  any,  he  was  assassinated,  are  among  the  unsolved  historical 
problems.  From  the  death  of  the  two  great  generals  the  war  became  an  ignoble 
struggle  ; '  the  conflict  of  principles  was  succeeded  by  that  of  rival  egotisms  ;  it  is  no 
wonder  that  Prague  was  never  reclaimed  to  the  cause  of  freedom.  And  so  it  is  that 
this  noble  city,  that  may  be  called  the  very  cradle  of  the  Reformation,  became  and 
has  ever  since  remained  among  the  foremost,  on  all  the  continent  of  Europe,  in 
its  adherence  to  Rome. 

I  was,  however,  much  struck  to  find  with  what  care  the  memorials  of  Hus  are  still 
preserved  in  the  city  which  had  thus  practically  disowned  him.  In  the  Library  of  the 
Bohemian  Museum,  among  its  greatest  treasures,  is  the  autograph  challenge  which 
Hus  af^xed  to  the  gate  of  the  University  of  Prague,  offering  to  maintain  against  all 
comers  the  articles  of  his  belief — an  anticipation  of  Luther's  Ninety  Theses  at  Wit- 
tenberg ;  the  Jesuits'  College  contains  many  of  his  manuscripts,  and,  most  curious  of 
all,  preserves  a  Hussite  Liturgy  of  a  later  period,  with  illuminations  illustrating 
partly  the  Gospel  History,  partly  the  life  of  Hus  himself  ;  on  one  of  the  pages  of 
which  are  three  small  pictures — Wycliffe  striking  the  Light,  Hus  blowing  the  Flame, 
and  Luther  holding  the  blazing  Torch.  The  college  fathers  point  to  these  minia- 
tures with  a  smile,  perhaps  a  whispered  absit  omen  !  They  may  point  to  the  city 
without,  which,  faithless  to  its  early  promise,  is  "  wholly  given  "  now  to  Popery  ;  but 
there  is  a  reality  in  the  symbol  which  the  world  will  one  day  prove  ! 

As  it  is,  the  signs  of  the  dominant  faith  are  encountered  everywhere.  The  great 
bridge  contains  between  twenty  and  thirty  statues  and  groups  of  saints,  with  a  great 
crucifix  in  the  center,  bearing  on  its  pedestal  the  inscription,  Is  it  nothing  to  you,  all 
ye  that  pass  by?  At  one  end  of  the  bridge  is  a  singular  group  of  souls  in  purgatory, 
more  grotesque  than  impressive.  But  chief  among  the  saints  commemorated 
here  is  John  Nepomuk,  who,  it  is  said,  was  flung  from  this  bridge  into  the  Moldau, 
in  13S3,  for  refusing  to  betray  the  secrets  of  the  confessional.     His  body,  it  is  added, 

'  See  Kohlrausch's  History  of  Germany,  ch.  xxv. 


PRAGUE  TO  MUNICH,  BY  VIENNA. 


floated  for  some  time  on  the  surface  with  five  stars  hovering  over  his  head.  To 
commemorate  the  alleged  miracle,  there  is  a  marble  slab  on  the  coping  of  the  bridge, 
■engraven  with  a  cross  and  five  stars.  When  I  was  in  Prague  the  annual  commemo- 
ration of  this  saint  was  about  to  be  held,  and  the  walls  were  covered  with  announce- 
ments of  excursion  trains,  and  various  festivities  in  his  honor.  I  was  told  that 
thousands  of  persons  would  visit  the  city  ;  that  high  mass  would  be  celebrated  in  a 
temporary  chapel  on  the  bridge,  at  the  place  of  his  martyrdom,  and  that  the  crowds 
were  usually  so  great  as  to  prevent  all  traffic.  All  this,  however,  I  could  not  stay  to 
see  ;  nor  did  I  visit  many  of  the  sixty-two  Romanist  churches  and  chapels  which 
Prague  provides  for  its  population  of  170,000.     The  old  Hussite  church,  the   Teyn- 


HOUSE    IN    WHICH    JOHN    HUS    WAS    BORN    (aT    HUSSlNliTZ.) 

kirclic,  erected  in  the  fifteenth  century,  and  containing  the  tomb  of  Tycho  Rrahe,  had, 
formerly,  among  its  most  prominent  ornaments,  a  large  gilded  chalice,  in  token  of 
the  doctrine  that  the  communion  was  to  be  administered  to  the  laity  in  both  kinds. 
After  the  Battle  of  the  White  Hill  this  was  replaced  by  an  image  of  the  X'irgin, 
which  still  remains.  There  are,  however,  still  three  Protestant  churches  in  the  city  ; 
with  eight  Jewish  synagogues  ;  and  those  who  care  to  penetrate  through  the  narrow 
streets  to  the  Jews'  quarter,  on  the  river  side,  a  little  below  the  old  bridge,  will  find, 
Among  the  sounds  and  smells  of  a  swarming  population,  not  a  little  that  is  curious 
and  interesting.  It  is  said  that  the  Jews  established  themselves  here  before  the  de- 
struction of  Jerusalem  as  slave-dealers;  buying,  selling,  and  exchanging  the  captives 
taken  by  the  Pagans  in  war.  The  authority  for  the  tradition  does  not  seem  very 
satisfactory  ;  but  it  is  certain  that  the  settlement  is  an  ancient  one,  and  to  this  day 
the  Jews  have  a  Rathhaus,  with  magistrates  and  schools  of  their  own.  An  old 
burying-ground,  covered  with  dilai)idated,  moss-grown  tombstones,  bearing  deep-cut 
Hebrew  inscriptions  and  symbols,  with  little  pebble-cairns  cast.  Eastern  fashion,  upon 


PRAGUE  TO  MUNICH,  BY  VIENNA. 


every  ledge,  and  the  whole  overgrown  with  crooked  alders  and  intertwining  brush- 
wood, is  one  of  the  most  curious  sights  of  Prague. 

But  to  exhaust  the  points  of  interest  which  crowd  this  most  attractive  city 
would  be  well-nigh  impossible,  nor  was  it  practicable  to  visit  every  scene  of  his- 
toric interest  in  the  neighborhood.  I  should  much  have  liked  to  see  the  field 
of  that  Battle  of  Prague  (celebrated  so  widely,  at  least  in  the  piano-music  of  the 
last  generation),  won  by  Frederick  the  Great  in   1757,  when  it  seemed  as  though 

Bohemia  must  fall  under  the  power  of 
Prussia.  At  Kolin,  however,  not  far 
off,  the  fortune  of  war  was  reversed, 
and  the  apparently  irresistible  monarch 
driven  back  finally  from  Eastern  Eu- 
rope. Those  who  have  seen  the  monu- 
ment of  Frederick  at  Berlin,  with  its 
biographical  bas-reliefs,  will  remember 
one,  very  finely  executed,  in  which 
the  king  is  represented  as  seated,  after 
that  defeat,  in  brooding  melancholy, 
drawing  with  a  cane  upon  the  ground 
the  plan  of  the  disastrous  battle.  An- 
other hundred  years,  and  Kolin  was 
to  be  avenged  by  Koniggratz. 

An  evening  stroll  round  the  ram- 
parts of  the  Old  Town  appropriately 
closed  my  visit  to  this  strangely  fasci- 
nating ancient  city.  A  band  was 
playing  some  wildly  plaintive  Bo- 
hemian airs  ;  groups  of  people,  re- 
leased from  the  day's  business,  were 
wandering  in  the  gardens  beneath  the 
ramparts  ;  the  towers  of  the  city 
stood  out  grandly  against  the  calm 
evening  sky.  All  spoke  of  peace 
where  in  times  past  the  hottest  conflicts 
had  raged  ;  and  it  was  impossible  not 
to  think  of  the  time  when,  without 
the  cannon  or  the  sword,  the  world's 
strife  shall  be  composed,  and  truth's  victories  shall  be  won. 

A  somewhat  long  day's  journey  brought  me  from  Prague,  by  way  of  Kolin 
and  Brunn,  to  Vienna.  There  was  nothing  very  noticeable  in  the  way,  save  the 
successive  battle-fields  which  lay  In,  or  near,  the  line  of  the  journey.  First,  there 
was  Kolin  itself,  where  an  obelisk  on  a  neighboring  height  marks  the  Austrian 
victory  ;  then  Koniggratz  (or,  as  it  is  sometimes  called  from  a  neighboring  village, 
Sadowa),  where  there  are  guides  to  show  the  different  positions  of  the  battle,  as 
at  Waterloo  ;  then  Austerlitz,  where  the  greatest  of  Napoleon's  victories  was  won  ; 
and,  lastly,  Wagram,  where  also  he  was  victorious.  The  battle-field  of  Austerlitz 
is  some  twelve  miles  distant  from  Briinn,  the  capital  of  Moravia,  prettily  situated 


'^^— X"^ife^,#^ 


---i2,^S^^fite£'- 


iHE    TEYNKIRCHE  (old  HUSSITE  church)    PRAGUE. 


PRAGUE  TO  MUNICH,  BY  VIENNA. 

at  the  confluence  of  two    rivers,  near  the   height   on   which   stands  the   castle   of 
Spielberg-,  famous  as  the  prison  of  Silvio  Pellico,  as  well  as  of  the  wild  and  turbu- 
lent Baron  Trenck.     The   dismantled  fortification   is   now  the  center  of   a   lovely 
promenade  and  pleasure  garden. 

Before  reaching  Vienna,  the  broad  Danube  is  crossed,  in  the  midst  of  low 
and  marshy  ground.  The  river  at  this  point  has  nothing  but  its  great  breadth 
and  mighty  flow  to  make  it  impressive.  It  was  of  a  pale,  muddy  color,  and  was 
altogether  a  disappointment.  I  was  to  find  hereafter  that  in  its  upper  course 
it  has  beauties   not    to    be    surpassed    even    by  those    of   the    Rhine  ;    while  in  its 


BRUNN. 


descent  it  acquires  all  the  magnificence  that  vastness  can  give.  But  I  must  con- 
fess to  a  vanished  illusion.  Had  I  not  somewhere  or  other  read  of  the  "  blue 
Donau  "  ? 

In  Vienna  the  great  sight  is  the  city  itself — a  scene  of  busy  life  hardly  to 
be  surpassed  in  London  or  Paris.  The  general  plan  of  the  city  is  peculiar.  The 
central  part  is  surrounded  by  a  series  of  broad,  open  spaces  or  "  Rings,"  often 
planted  with  trees,  answering  somewhat  to  the  Parisian  boulevards,  but  wider. 
These  take  the  place  of  the  ancient  fortifications,  and  are  lined  in  many  parts  with 
the  most  sumptuous  edifices,  palaces,  theaters,  public  buildings — either  complete  or 
in  the  course  of  erection.  The  Grecian  orders  of  architecture  still  prevail ;  and 
several  of  the  incomplete  buildings  are  of  surpassing  costliness  and  splendor — 
notably,  the  Hall  of  the  Legislative  Council,  the  Rathhaus,  and  the  University 
— all  within  a  short  distance.  When  these,  and  half  a  dozen  structures  on  a 
corresponding  scale  are  finished,  they  will  form,  with  the  New  Opera,  a  chain  of 
buildings,   I  should    think,  uncqualed    in    their    style    since   the    brightest    days    of 

103 


PRAGUE  TO  MUNICH,  BY  VIENNA. 

Greece  and  Rome.  Still  I  could  not  but  feel  that  the  style  is  here  out  of 
place  ;    it  was  all  cold,  unimpressive  magnificence. 

Beyond  the  Rings  there  lie  a  series  of  suburbs,  in  the  aggregate  much  surpassing 
the  city  in  extent  ;  they  seem,  indeed,  to  be  regarded  in  a  sense  as  separate  towns, 
since  at  every  corner  we  see  not  only  the  name  of  the  street  but  the  designation  of 
the  "  Stadt "  to  which  it  belongs.  The  northern  and  eastern  suburbs  are  separated 
from  the  boulevards  by  arms  of  the  Danube,  which  unite  near  the  northeastern  part  of 
the  city  and  sweep  round  the  inner  boundary  of  the  Prater — most  beautiful  of  Euro- 
pean city  parks,  and  the  resort  of  gentle  and  simple  alike.  To  draw  a  comparison 
from  London,  it  is  Hyde  Park  and  Victoria  Park  in  one,  but  with  romantic  beauties 
possessed  by  neither  ;  and  at  holiday  times  it  affords  a  most  lively  and  curious  pic- 
ture of  Austrian  life  and  manners. 

In  the  city  proper,  all  the  main  streets  radiate  to  St.  Stephen's  Cathedral,  which, 


VIENNA,    FROM    THE    UPPER    TERRACE,    BELVEDERE    PALACE. 

with  its  magnificent  South  Tower,  forms  the  chief  architectural  glory  of  Vienna. 
Nothing  can  well  be  conceived  more  graceful  in  its  proportions  than  this  tower, 
which  rises  to  the  height  of  four  hundred  and  forty-four  feet,  in  a  series  of  arches 
and  buttresses  regularly  retreating,  and  wrought  with  the  finest  elaboration.  In 
walking  round  the  exterior  of  the  cathedral,  it  was  curious  to  notice  the  tablets  and 
monuments  let  into  the  wall,  in  almost  every  part,  at  a  considerable  height  above  the 
pavement.  These  originally  faced  a  church-yard,  which  has  long  since  been  merged 
into  the  Platz.  The  interior  of  the  building  was  chiefiy  remarkable  for  the  great 
height  of  the  nave  and  the  splendor  of  the  painted  glass  windows  ;  although  in  gen- 
eral effect  it  still  yields  to  the  incomparable  Doni  of  Cologne.  By  way  of  contrast 
with  St.  Stephen's,  I  visited  the  newest  of  Gothic  churches,  the  Votif-Kirchc,  hardly 
yet  complete,  erected  by  the  Austrian  people  in  gratitude  for  the  escape  of  their  late 
Emperor,  Francis  Joseph,  from  an  attempt  upon  his  life  in  1853.  The  foundation 
stone  of  this  church  was  brought,  it  is  said,  from  the  Mount  of  Olives,  and  was  laid 
in  1856.  Our  engraving  gives  a  general  idea  of  the  effect  of  the  fine  interior,  which 
in  some  respects  follows  the  plan  of  Cologne. 
104 


:o6 


SlREtT 


IN    VIENNA  :     WALL    ANNOUNCEMENTS. 


PRAGUE  TO  MUNICH,  BY  VIENNA. 

The  museums  and  picture  galleries  of  the  city  are  very  numerous ;  and  one,  the 
Imperial  Picture  Gallery,  may  almost  vie  with  that  of  Dresden.  Three  world- 
famous  pictures,  at  least,  are  here,  the  Ecce  Homo  of  Titian,  Annibale  Caracci's 
Christ  and  the  Woman  of  Samaria,  and  Rubens's  Refusal  to  admit  the  Emperor 


DER    GRABEN,    VIENNA. 

Theodosius  to  the  Church  in  Milan.  This  last  painting  is  very  fine,  telling  a 
grand  story  in  a  simple  and  noble  way,  and  redeems  the  Rubens  department 
from  the  vulgarity  of  thought  and  coloring  which  here,  as  elsewhere,  too  largely 
characterizes  it. 

But  Vienna,  after  all,  is  best  studied  in  the  streets  ;  and  no  city  can  present 
more  various  types  of  character,  jostling  one  another  in  one  mighty  crowd.      It  is  a 

107 


PRAGUE  TO  MUNICH,  BY  VIENNA. 

meeting-place  of  Eastern  and  Western  Europe,  and  the  observant  visitor  never  for- 
gets that  he  is  in  the  metropolis,  not  of  Austria  only,  but  of  Hungary.  The  "  Gra- 
ben,"  a  main  street  in  the  very  center  of  the  city,  will  be  found  full  of  interest  at 
almost  any  hour  of  the  day,  while  the  shop  windows,  and  especially  the  announce- 
ments on  the  walls  (for  which  definite  places  seem  permanently  reserved),  have  a 
character  all  their  own.  I  noticed  that  the  custom,  once  so  common  in  England,  of 
hanging  out  signposts  to  denote  the  several  trades,  is  still  common  in  Vienna. 

As  to  what  the  city  is  religiously,  I  could  only  judge  from  superficial  signs,  as 
Avell  as  from  the  judgment  of  residents  competent  to  form  an  opinion.  With  one  of 
them,  especially,  I  had  a  long  and  very  interesting  conversation. 

"  The  Viennese,"  it  was  remarked,  "seem  almost  the  more  hopeless  because  of 
their  attractive  qualities.  They  are  good-natured,  kindly,  even  tolerant,  but  almost 
incurably  superficial."  "  I  had  thought  them  especially  bigoted."  "  Hardly  so  ;  they 
value  the  excitements  of  their  religion,  and  resent  any  attempt  to  dispossess  them  of 
it  ;  but  it  is  not  because  they  greatly  care  about  their  creed.  The  search  after  truth 
is  a  matter  quite  out  of  their  line  of  thought."  "How  can  they  be  reached?" 
"  Perhaps  through  their  love  of  reading  ;  this  is  a  passion  with  all  classes.  But  they 
must  be  amused."  "Will  they  read  stories  with  a  Christian,  evangelical  moral?" 
"  Oh,  yes  ;  or  any  lively,  interesting  periodical."  "  But  how  to  get  them  to  the 
people?"  "  That  is  the  difficulty,  where  colportage  is  forbidden,  and  none  can  sell 
printed  matter  without  a  license."  The  conclusion  was  that  in  Austria,  as  elsewhere, 
the  endeavor  must  be  to  create  an  appetite  for  wholesome  Christian  reading  ;  and 
this  once  aroused,  no  priestly  intolerance  would  be  able  to  prevent  its  gratification. 
I  asked  to  what  extent  the  Sunday-school  system  had  been  introduced  into  Austria. 
"  Not  at  all  to  the  same  extent  as  into  Northern  Germany.  There  is  one  good  Sun- 
day-school in  Vienna,' conducted  amid  many  difficulties ;  in  Bohemia  and  Moravia 
the  system  is  more  hopefully  extended.  We  have  also  a  Young  Men's  Christian 
Association  in  the  city,  and  this  is  doing  some  evangelistic  work  ;  although  the 
police  difficulties  in  the  way  of  holding  meetings  are  almost  insuperable."  "  Do  you 
think,  on  the  whole,  that  the  native  Protestant  churches  °  are  likely  to  carry  on  a 
work  of  evangelization?"  "Hardly  so;  at  least  not  until  roused  by  some  new 
impulse.  They  seem  mostly  content  to  be  tolerated,  and  to  hold  their  own.  No  ;  I 
fear  that  the  life  will  not  break  out  from  that  quarter.     At  present  the  one  hope  is  in 

'  "  It  was  only  within  the  last  few  years  that  some  Christian  men  had  attempted,  with  varying  success,  to  start,  upon  a  small 
scale,  Sunday-schools  in  the  larger  cities  of  Austria,  and  only  in  Vienna  had  a  prolonged  attempt  been  made.  In  1873,  the  Rev. 
D.  Moore  and  Count  Bernstoff  started  a  Sunday-school  in  a  fourth-floor  lodging.  Several  of  the  schools  were  formed  privately  at 
that  time,  but  all  had  ceased  to  exist.  The  first  Sunday-school  held  in  a  public  hall  specially  provided  for  such  meetings  was  in 
1875,  at  the  Evangelical  Chapel,  in  Vienna.  The  attendance  varied  for  several  years  until  1877,  when  the  number  on  the  list 
steadily  increased  to  nearly  300,  with  a  regular  attendance  of  about  160  children  and  16  teachers.  This  movement  was  sharply 
watched  by  the  priests,  causing  much  trouble  and  annoyance  to  children  and  teachers.  Although,  some  two  months  ago,  a  com- 
bined effort  was  made  on  the  part  of  the  priests  and  Roman  Catholic  School  directors  to  crush  the  Sunday-school,  the  attempt 
had  utteriy  failed,  and  it  continued  to  exist  to  the  present  day.  Many  of  the  children  had  been  threatened  with  expulsion  from 
the  day-schools  by  the  priests,  but  still  the  parents  persevered  in  sending  them  to  the  Sunday-school.  There  had  been  an  earnest 
desire  manifested  in  Vienna  to  form  a  Committee  for  Sunday-school  work  in  Austria,  and  last  year  that  wish  was  gratified  in 
part  at  a  Sunday-school  Conference,  where  it  was  agreed  to  form  what  had  been  called  the  Bohemian  and  Moravian  Sunday- 
school  Society.  One  of  its  first  efforts  was  the  issue,  in  the  Bohemian  language,  of  a  Sunday-school  Teacher's  Magazine,  for 
circulation  in  Bohemia,  Moravia,  Silesia,  and  a  large  part  of  Hungary." — Speech  by  Rev.  W.  Priggen,  of  Vienna,  at  the  Sun- 
day-school Union  Centenary  Conference,  London,  iSSo. 

'  .\ccording  to  the  most  recent  statistics,  the  State  religion  of  Austria  proper,  the  Roman  Catholic  includes  804  in  a  thousand 
of  the  population  ;  the  Greek  Catholics,  117  ;  Byzantine  Greeks,  25  ;  the  Evangelical  Protestants.  17  ;  the  remainder  being  made 
up  of  other  sects.  In  the  whole  empire  the  numbers  are  664  Romanist,  no  Greek  Catholic,  90  Byzantine,  and  104  Protestant. 
— Statesman's  Year  Book. 

108 


PRAGUE  TO  MUNICH,  BY  VIENNA. 


the  press,  and 
especially  in  the 
dissemination  of 
the  Scriptures, 
f  o  r  w  h  i  c  h  ,  of 
course,  all  other 
publications  on- 
ly prepare  the 
way."  "  Is  the 
Bible  read?" 
'  It  is  difficult 
to  say  precisely; 
a  good  number 
of  copies  are 
sold  every  year." 
"  What  do  you 
mean  by  a  good 
number? " 

Well,  here  is 


VOTIF-KIRCHE  ;     VIENNA. 


PRAGUE  TO  MUNICH,  BY  VIENNA. 


the  memoran<lum  for  the  year  just  closed  of  the  Britisli  and  Foreign  Bible 
Society:  'Austria,  Upper  and  Lower,  5519  Bibles,  22,159  Testaments,  8422  por- 
tions of  the  Scriptures — a  total  of  36,ibo;  and  for  the  empire  at  large,  23,032 
Bibles,  68,714  Testaments,  24,491  portions — being  a  total  of  116,237  apart  from 
copies  of  the  Scriptures  supplied  through  other  agencies."  And  this  in  nearly  twenty 
lamruaijes,  the  German  and  Huntjarian,  of  course,  taking  the  lead.'"  Little  could 
be  added  to  these  encouraging  statistics  ;  and  the  result  of  the  conversation  \vas  to 
inspire  much  hope  for  the  future  of  this  great  empire. 

A  long  night  journey  from  \'ienna  brought  me  with  the  early  dawn  to  the  little 
town  of  Salzburg  ;  and  sallying  forth  from  the  railway  station,  1  thought  that  the 
world  could  contain  but  few  pictures  so  beauti- 
ful. The  town  was  still  slumberincr  beside  its 
swift  river,  Salza,  rushing  from  among  the  distant 
Alps  to  the  Danube.  Morning  mists  were  curl- 
ing upward  from  the  richly  wooded  hills  on  one 
bank,  and  from  the  bare  precipices  on  the  other. 
Between  these  hei^rhts  the  castle-rock  stood  bare 

o 

and  stern  ;  while  far  up  the  valley  snow-clad 
mountains  had  already  bared  their  crests  and 
whitelv  reflected  tlie  mornino- lieht.  The  hours 
that  succeeded  were  full  of  charm.  I  climbed  to 
the  chief  points  of  view  that  command  the  town, 
the  Capucinberg  with  its  monastery  on  the  right 
bank,  the  Monchbergon  the  left ;  and  as  the  day 
progressed  and  the  town  woke  up  to  life,  the 
scene  acquired  new  richness  of  beauty,  while 
the  openings  in  the  distant  hills  still  suggested 
the  wonders  beyond. 

A  local  guide-book  prepared  for  the  use 
of  our  countrymen  writes,  with  pardonable 
enthusiasm,  if  in  imperfect  English:  "'The 
sceneries     of    Salzburg,'     Humboldt    says,    'of 

Naples  and  Constantinople,  I  believe  to  be  the  finest  in  the  world.'  And  no 
doubt,  in  regard  to  Salzburg,  the  opinion  of  this  great  author  is  well  founded. 
Salzburg  is  an  Eldorado  for  its  magnificent  scenery,  and  no  man,  subject  to  the 
charms  of  it,  will  ever  forget  the  old  houses,  the  venerable-looking  old  streets  of  the 
inner  town,  the  proud  fortress  of  Hohensalzburg,  and  all  that  grandly  surrounded 
by  a  range  of  gigantic  mountains,  offers  a  view  of  delightful  sjjlendor.  Tightly 
embraced  by  the  Alpine  Giants,  the  lovely  grounds  develop  their  charms  to  the 
astonished  eye  of  the  traveler,  and  in  the  midst  of  all,  divided  by  the  fresh  waters 
of  the  Salzach,  lies  the  town  in  silent  grace.  Turning  to  the  opposite  side,  we  see 
the  fresh  green  Bavarian  valleys,  enlivened  by  many  nice  cottages,  and  we,  not  the 
less  delighted,  enjoy  the  agreeable  contrast  of  the  former  scenes." 

Descending  to  the  streets,  which  were  reached  from  the  Monchberg  by  a  long 
flight  of  steps,  I  found,  1  confess,  little  that  was  verj'  noticeable  ;  there  is  a  large 
catheilral  in  a  florid   Italian  style  ;  also  an  imposing  fountain  w^ith  water  streaming 

'  The  number  in  1877  was  144,376. 

711 


VIENNA  :      V(JTIF-Kn<CHE. 


PRAGUE  TO  MUNICH,  BY  VIENNA. 

from  the  nostrils  of  bronze  horses;  but  more  interesting  was  a  statue  of  Mozart,  and 
an  inscription  on  the  front  of  a  house,  near  the  river,  notifying  the  fact  that  there 
the  great  musician  was  born.  Germany  is  careful  to  note  the  birthplaces  of  its  great 
men.  At  Hamburg  there  is  a  tablet  to  intimate  where  Mendelssohn  was  born  ;  at 
Leipsic,  a  similar  memorial  of  his  residence  in  that  city  ;  and  to  leave  any  distin- 
guished man  without  a  statue  or  monument  in  his  native  town  or  village,  would  be 
regarded  as  strange  indeed. 


AT    SCHUNBRUNN,    NEAR    VIENNA. 


The  cemetery,  too,  is  beautiful, 
poet  Lenau  says  : 


Quoting  again  from  our  local  guide-book,  "  The 


Translation  : 


Der  fremde  Wan<rrer,  kommend  aus  der  Feme, 
Deiii  liier  kein  Gliick  vermodert,  weilt  doch  gerne 

Ilier,  wo  die  Schonheit  Hiiterin  der  'I'odten. 
Sie  sclilafen  tief  und  sanft  in  ill i  en  Armen, 
M'ohin  zu  neuem  Leben  sie  erwarmen  ; 

Die  Blumeii  winken's,  iiire  stillen  Boten. 

The  wanderer,  strange,  coming  from  abroad, 

He,  for  whom  no  fortune  here  decaj's,  yet  stops  enamored 

Here,  where  beaut)'  is  sole  guardian  to  the  dead. 

They  sleep  safe  and  sound  in  Beauty's  arms, 

Where  into  new  life  she  them  enwarms  ; 

The  flowers  hint  it,  their  quiet  messenger." 

As  the  name  imports,  Salzburg  is  the  metropolis  of  the  salt-producing  district  in 
Austria,  or  rather  of  its  northern  part  ;  the  mines  of  Berchtesgaden  and  Hallein,  at 
a  little  distance,  being  amongst   the   most  considerable.     These  are  well   worth  a 


",4  W  I 


'  ,.,'ii"f# 


i«m»«*^~ 


VILNNA  :     THE    JEWS'    QUARTER. 


114 


PRAGUE  TO  ^[UNICH,  BY  VlEiVNA. 

visit.  In  some  places  (as  at  Northwich,  in  Chesliire),  tlie  salt  is  found  in  masses  ;  and 
the  excavated  galleries,  gleaming  with  crystals,  form  a  magnificent  sight,  especially 
when  lighted  up.  But  in  most  cases  the  salt  is  found  only  in  combination  with  other 
minerals,  and  is  extracted  through  the  agency  of  water  ;  chambers  being  excavated 
at  intervals  in  the  rock  ;  and  a  mountain  spring  turned  on  until  the  chamber  is  quite 
full  ;  it  is  then  closed,  and  the  salt  gradually  finds  its  way  from  the  veins  of  the  rock 
in  which  it  is  imbedded,  into  the  reservoir,  where  it  dissolves,  forming  a  strongbrine. 
After  an  interval  of  weeks,  or  months,  according  to  the  character  of  the  stratum,  the 
reservoir  is  tapped,  and  the  brine  conveyed  by  pipes  to  salt  works,  where  it  is  evap- 
orated in  shallow  pans,  the  salt  crystalizing  at  boiling  heat.  A  number  of  places 
devoted  to  this  industry  have  their  names  ending  with  //^z//,  evidently  kindred  with  the 


^^^^^   :-^.-.^  ^."^^^^^^^^■'2=^^ 


^^5i5?&fES@<lD 


SALZDURU    CASTLF,. 


Greek  «U.  One  town  at  the  foot  of  the  Brenner  Pass  is  called  Hall  without  any 
prefix.  The  name  of  the  Salzkammergut,  a  romantic  region  hereafter  to  be 
described,  literally  means  "  the  domain  of  salt,"  antl  the  district  yields  a  consider- 
able revenue  to  the  Austrian  Government. 

From  Salzburg  many  roads  lead  into  the  heart  of  the  Alps,  all  of  them  rich 
in  scenes  of  grandeur  and  beauty.  The  valley  of  the  Pongau,  with  its  ravines  and 
torrents  through  the  cloven  rocks,  is  especially  wonderful.  P)Ut  for  the  time  my 
route  took  me  altogether  away  from  this  mountain  district  to  the  city  of  Munich. 
The  Alps  were  left  behind,  rising  from  the  plain  like  a  stupendous  barrier  ;  the 
beautiful  Chiemsee,  the  largest  lake  in  Bavaria,  was  passed  ;  aiul  over  a  perfectly 
level  country  I  journeyed  to  the  Bavarian  metropolis,  the  environs  of  whirli,  skirted, 
as  it  seemed,  for  some  miles  by  the  railway,  rise  straggling  out  of  meadows  and 
marshes  without  order  or  picturesqueness.     The  attention,  however,  is  arrested  near 


PRAGUE  TO  MUNICH,  BY  VIENNA. 

the  point  of  arrival  by  a  modern  building  of  fine  proportions  with  a  Doric  colon- 
nade ;  in  front  of  which  is  a  gigantic  bronze  statue  of  a  robed  woman  crowned  with 
laurel  and  holding  a  wreath  aloft.  This,  I  afterward  found,  was  the  celebrated  Bava- 
ria— a  statue  sixty-one  and  a  half  feet  high,  on  a  pedestal  of  twenty-eight  and  a  half 
more — a  total  of  ninety  feet.  The  wreath  is  in  her  left  hand  ;  a  sword  in  her  right. 
The  Bavarians  are  an  intensely  patriotic  people,  and  the  symbols  denote  that  which 
they  regard  as  the  twofold  honor  of  their  country,  military  prowess  and  intellectual 
glory.  Those  who  are  curiously  disposed  may  climb  this  wonderful  statue  by  steps 
in  the  interior,  and  from  apertures  in  the  laurel  crown  may  survey  the  whole  city  of 
Munich.  The  building  in  front  of  which  it  stands  is  called  the  "  Hall  of  Fame,"  a 
kind  of  VValhalla  dedicated  to  the  famous  personages  of  Bavarian  story. 


MUNICH;    THE  "Bavaria"  and  the  hall  of  kawe. 


The  nearer  survey  is  full  of  interest,  although  hardly  bearing  out  the  enthu- 
siastic estimate  of  their  capital  by  the  Bavarians  themselves,  as  the  Florence 
of  the  North.  "  The  Isar  rolling  rapidly " '  is  not  quite  the  Arno ;  and  in  the 
flat  surroundings  of  Munich,  there  is  no  Fiesole.  Then,  apart  from  this,  the 
palaces  and  galleries  of  the  Bavarian  town,  attractive  as  they  undoubtedly  are, 
can  be  regfarded  as  no  more  than  an  imitation.  To  me  at  least  the 
modern  classic  style  of  their  architecture  destroyed  much  of  their  effect  ;  and 
in  the  wide  open  places  where  they  stand  their  aspect  is  dreary.  Very  anti- 
German  too  are  the  words  by  which  the  chief  edifices  are  described.  With 
such  facility  of  compounding  terms  as  their  language  pre-eminently  possesses, 
why  resort  to  the  Greek  for  words  which  can  never  be  less  than  barbarous  to 
Teutonic    ears.      But  let  us  enter  the  buildings  themselves  ;  and,  called    by   what- 

'  The  Isar  is  nearly  twenty  miles  from  tlie  field  of  Hohenlinden. 
Ii6 


RAVINE    IN    THE    PONGAU    VALLEY,    SALZUURG    ALPS. 


Ii8 


PRAGUE  TO  MUNICH,  BY  VIENNA. 

ever  name,  they  are  most  attractive  and  beautiful  in  their  contents.  True,  they  are 
far  below  the  Dresden  Gallery,  and  do  not  even  come  up  to  that  of  Vienna  ;  but 
there  is  ennufrh  for  wonder  and  delioht,  as  well  as  for  lenirthened  studv.  Arain,  I 
must  not  ])articularize,  and  the  treasures  of  sculpture  contained  in  the  Glyptothek  I 
must  wholly  pass  by  ;  amony  the  paintings  in  the  Old  Pinakothek,  thf)se  which  stand 


BAVARIAN    HIGHLANDS  :     THE    EARLY    START. 


out  most  prominently  in  memory  are  the  beg'gar  children  ami  fruit-sellers  in  Murillo's 
four  well-known  pictun-s,  and  a  series  of  portraits  b\' V' an  Dyck.  Nothing  can  exceed 
the  former  in  sympathetic  humor  ;  and  the  latter  are  full  of  nobleness  and  stateh' 
grace. 

In  interest  of  a  different  kind,  the  National  IMusetun  is  \ery  rich  ;  and  no  visi- 
tor should  omit  a  survey,  however  hurried,  of  its  ample  and  well  arranged  stores. 
The  buildincr  itself  is  a  very  noble  one,  and  far  surpasses  the  other  in  effect,  placed 
as  it  is  in  the  line  of  a  wide  and  magnificent  street,  the  Maximilianstrasse,  and  staini- 


ng 


PRAGUE  TO  MUNICH,  BY  VIENNA. 

m%  a  little  way  back  from  a  forecourt  beautifully  laid  out  with  shrubs.  The  col- 
lection includes  antiquities  of  every  kind,  domestic,  industrial,  military  ;  and  the 
chronological  order  of  classification  is  so  admirably  maintained  that  to  pass  from 
room  to  room  is  like  reading  successive  chapters  of  richly  illustrated  history.  Thus, 
one  series  of  chambers  displays  the  armor,  weapons,  and  dress  of  the  early  times, 
from  suits  of  chain-mail  worn  in  the  fourteenth  century  down  to  the  very  pistols  and 
the  celebrated  cane  of  Frederick  the  Great  ;  another  room  contains  models  of  ships, 
from  the  cumbrous  galleys  of  fifteenth  and  si.xteenth  century  warfare  to  the 
steamships  of  modern  times.  Church  architecture  and  adornments  are  largely  rep- 
resented, as  are  also  the  arts  of   carving  in  wood  and   ivory  ;  the  manufacture  and 


BAVARIAN    HIGHLANU    COSTU.MES. 


Staining  of  glass  ;  MS.  illumination  and  early  printing,  and  much  beside.  The  col- 
lection of  tapestry  is  very  large  and  valuable  ;  so  is  that  of  porcelain  and  ceramic 
ware.  The  whole  is  a  complete  index  to  the  industrial  and  artistic  progress  of 
Bavaria,  while  other  countries  are  not  excluded.  A  little  room,  always  crowded  with 
curious  spectators,  contains  a  number  of  instruments  of  torture,  including  a  rack, 
a  spiked  chair,  a  loaded  scourge,  thumbscrews,  ducking-stool,  and  so  on — means  by 
which,  in  former  ages,  men  attempted  to  check  immorality,  and  in  particular  to  sup- 
press differences  of  opinion  on  religious  matters  !  It  was  a  mournful  sight — yet  one 
to  enkindle  thankfulness  and  hope.  Looking  on  it,  one  felt  that  the  progress  of  man- 
kind was  not  quite  a  dream. 

But  perhaps  the  most  unique  part  of  this  admirable  exhibition  is  in  the  series  of 
large  wall-pictures  carried  on  through  all  the  rooms  on  one  of  the  floors,  and  illus- 
trating the  history  of  liavaria  from  the  earliest  days  to  the  present  time.  The  jjaint- 
ings  may  not  be  in  the  highest  style  of  art,  biit  they  are  fairly  well  executed,  and  tell 
their  story  well.  It  was  impossible  to  bestow  on  them  more  than  a  hasty  glance, 
but  that  was  enough  to  show  the  great  value  of  such   representations  of  a  people's 


I'.fnillll   1'.," 


1     ili'i'i'' 


'iiiiiiiiiiMHililM 


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FRAGUE  TO  MUMCIJ,  BY  VIENNA. 


annal?,  supposing  it  to  be  faithful  to  the  main  facts.  The  dullest  could  thus  read 
the  story  of  their  countrj-,  and  become  familiar  with  great  deeds.  As  I  passed  along, 
not  a  few  groups  of  the  humbler  classes  were  studying  the  pictures  with  much  in- 

tellitrent    interest.      Other    countries 


like   manner    on   its    walls   an 
trated  History  of  England. 

Another  series  of  pictures,  by 
all  means  to  be  seen,  will  be  found 
in  the  lower  rooms  of  the  King's 
Palace,  a  stately  building  copied 
from  the  Pitti  Palace  in  Florence, 
and  in  the  very  center  of  the  city. 
These  paintings  are  in  fresco  by 
Julius  Schnorr,  and  represent  the 
personages  and  events  of  the  Nibe- 
hinzenlicd.  In  the  Entrance  Hall 
are  portrayed  the  chief  persons  of 
the  poem,  Siegfried  and  Kriemhild, 
Gunther  and  Brunhilde,  with  the  rest: 
then  follow  four  rooms  ;  each  are  called  after  the  chief  events  portrayed  in  it,  the 
Marriage  Hall,  the  Hall  of  Treachery,  the  Hall  of  Revenge,  and  the  Hall  of 
Mourning.  The  story  is  splendidly  told  ;  and  I  could  only  regret  that  my  acquaint- 
ance with  the  national  epic  of  Ger- 


might    usefully    take    the    hint,    and 

U! 

Illus- 


Soulh  Kensinoton   micrht  irive  us  in 


THE    BAVARIAN    HU;H1.ANDS:     "GOOU-NIGHT 


many  was  too  limited  for  tlie  full 
enjoyment  of  these  truly  magnificent 
pictures.  . 

A  visit  should  by  all  means  be 
paid  to  the  Munich  Cemetery,  often 
called  (as  every  reader  of  Longfellow 
knows)  "  God's  Acre,"  but  more 
usually  the  "Court  of  Peace."  It 
is  of  great  extent,  and  has  some 
interestincf  monuments.  But  the 
most  striking  scene  is  one  which  will 
affect  different  visitors  differently  ; 
from  which  some  will  shrink,  but 
which  I  confess  to  me  was  strangely 
impressive.  Between  death  and  the 
funeral  the  bodies  of  the  dead  arc 
placed  here  in  a  kind  of  corridor 
behind  a  glass  screen,  with  the 
coffin   lid  so  raised  as    to  show  the 

sleeping  form.  There  lie  old  and  young  in  their  last  rest,  often  decked  by 
loving  hands  with  flowers  ;  while  friends  come  wistfully  or  tearfully  to  bid  fare- 
well. A  stranger's  eye  might  seem  almost  a  profanation  there  ;  and  yet  it  was 
hartUy  so  ;   no  one  was  questioned,  none  interfered  with  ;  the  place  seemed  to  forbid 

123 


THK    liAVARIAN    HIC.HLANDS:     "  GOOD-MOKNING  !  " 


PRAGUE  TO  MUNICH,  BY  VIENNA. 


THE    BAVARIAN    HIGHLANDS  :     UPHILL, 


all  idle  curiosity  :  the  spirit  was  one  of  mournful   sympathy,  and  of  sadness  relieved 
by  hope  and  peace.      At  a  certain  hour  of  the  day  (three  in  the  afternoon  at  the  time 

of  my  visit),  the  coffins  of 
those  to  be  interred  are 
closed  :  the  priest  or  pastor 
appears — for  the  cemetery 
is  common  ground  to  Prot- 
estant and  Catholics  ;  and 
a  short  service  is  held  at 
the  grave.  Such  scenes,  I 
am  told,  were  once  frequent 
in  Germany  ;  but  are  now 
almost  peculiar  to  Munich. 
"  In  that  case,"  retorted  an 
American  visitor  at  a  table 
d'hote,  "  I  congratulate  the 
rest  of  Europe!"  Others, 
on  the  contrary,  who  had 
visited  the  spot,  thought 
the  custom  touching  and 
beautiful. 

It  was  just  beforeWhit- 
suntide  that  I  visited  Mun- 
ich, and  every  one  was  talking  of  the  Passions-Spiel  2X  Ober-Ammergau,  the  decennial 
celebration  of  which  was  to  begin  on  the  following  Monday  ;   making  therefore,  the 

Bavarian    High- , 

lands,  with  their 
picturesque 
scenery,  and 
homely,  simple- 
minded  peasant 
population,  for  a 
time  the  most 
popular  resort 
in   Europe. 

Apart  from 
this  special  at- 
traction, there  is 
enough  to  repay 
the  traveler  who 
rejoices  in  de- 
viating from  the 

beaten  paths.  The  village  lies  in  an  elevated  nook  among  the  mountains,  which  here 
present  no  features  of  peculiar  grandeur,  save  for  the  majestic  Kofel  surmounted  by 
its  cross,  so  familiar,  from  its  height  and  peculiar  shape,  to  every  visitor.  But  it 
is  not  for  its  scenery  that  this  Highland  nook  is  visited.  Only  too  probably, 
before  these  pages  can  be  read,  the  public  will  have  become  weary  of  the  Ammer- 
gau  "  mystery."  They  will  know  all  tliat  pictures  and  descriptions  can  tell  them 
124 


IHK    liAVARIAN    HIGHLANDS:     DOWNHILL. 


PRAGUE  TO  MUNICH,  BY  VIENNA. 

of  the  marvelous  representation  ;  thousands  will  have  seen  it,  and  will  have  formed 
their  own  conclusions.  I  will  only  say  here,  how  unfortunate  it  appears  to  me  that 
the  performance  should  have  become  a  world's  wonder.  It  is  felt,  I  think,  by  all  who 
have  visited  and  conversed  witli  the  peasants  of  the  village  that  they  entered  upon 
their  task  with  the  most  serious  simplicity.  They  were  like  children  in  the  matter  ; 
or  rather  like  our  own  ancestors,  who  in  media.'val  times  could  take  part  in  similar 
representations  without  conscious  profanity  or  irreverence.  The  Passions-Spiel  is  to 
the  Ammerg'au  villagers  a  solemn  religious  celebration.      It   is  the  great  event  of 


OBER-AMMF.RGAU. 


their  lives  ;  and  concurrent  testimony  goes  to  show  that  the  people  of  the  district 
are  pre-eminent  above  their  fellows  for  honesty,  sobriety,  and  purity  of  life.  This 
childlikeness,  however,  can  hardly  be  maintained  amid  the  blaze  of  publicity  into 
which  they  have  been  brought.  Tlie  falseness  of  the  idea  on  which  their  religious 
life  as  Romanists  is  basetl,  and  which  leads  to  this  and  similar  celebrations,  must 
manifest  itself,  to  the  moral  and  spiritual  detriment  of  the  people.  A  fatal  self- 
consciousness  must,  sooner  or  later,  be  awakened,  and  the  whole  thing  will  become  a 
profanation.  Still,  as  it  was,  I  am  bound  to  record,  after  having  conversed  with 
several  of  the  performers,  old  and  young,  as  well  as  with  many  visitors  who  were 
present  on  that  memorable  W'hitsun  Monday,  that  the  impression  on  all  minils 
seemed  very  solemn   and  tcMnler.      To  one   little  chikl    I   said,  "  And  what  part  have 


PRAGUE  TO  MUNICH,  BY  VIENNA. 

you  taken  to-day?"  "Oh,"  she  replied,  with  kindling,  eye,  "I  cried  Hosanna!" 
The  villager  in  whose  house  I  was  staying  came  in  during  the  mid-day  pause  after 
the  first  four  hours'  stage  of  the  performance.  "Are  you  not  going  to  eat  any- 
thing?" asked  a  friend  who  was  with  me.  "  Oh,  no!"  was  the  reply,  "  I  am  so  full 
of  Gcist,  I  cannot  eat  !  "  All  this,  no  doubt,  is  upon  a  level  far  below  the  highest. 
I  can  understand  and  sympathize  with  the  objection  taken  by  many  to  the  treatment 
of  sacred  subjects  and  personages  by  any  form  of  art.  Painting,  poetry,  music,  all 
fail  to  express  that  which  is  highest  and  deepest  in  our  souls.  Hence  there  are 
deeply  earnest  and  spiritual  Christians  who  cannot  endure  at  all  the  pictorial  repre- 
sentation of  the  Saviour,  in  the  days  of  His  earthly  life,  nuich  more  upon  His  cross. 
To  all  such,  these  living  pictures  at  Ober-Ammergau  must  be  unspeakably  repellent. 
But  perhaps  a  larger  charity  would  not  refuse  to  sympathize  with  those  who  may 
need  such  material  aids,  and  are  yet  upon  the  lowest  rounds  of  the  ladder  that  leads 
from  earth  to  heaven.  These  simple  people — who  can  tell  ? — though  nursed  in 
superstitious  forms  of  belief,  may  be  letl  through  their  very  attempt  to  realize  the 
outward  facts  of  the  Divine  story  to  a  perception  of  its  heavenly  meaning  ;  and  then, 
how  thankfully  will  they  discard  the  picture-book  which  so  dimly  guided  their  first 
thoughts  to  Him  !  Some  picture-cards,  with  Bible  texts  in  German,  issued  by  the 
Religious  Tract  Society,  with  which  one  of  my  fellow-travelers,  an  excellent  Canon 
of  the  Church  of  England,  had  provided  himself,  were  most  eagerly  received  by  the 
villagers,  old  and  young,  and  were  afterward  seen  in  many  homes.  Tracts  might 
have  been  rejected  as  sectarian  or  heretical,  but  the  pure  Word  in  this  form  was  only 
welcome,  and,  it  may  be  hoped,  will  do  its  silent  work. 

Whitsunday  will  long  be  remembered,  I  doubt  not,  by  many  visitors  to  Ober- 
Ammergau.  In  the  morning  a  goodly  company  of  English  and  American  Christians 
assembled  in  one  of  the  largest  rooms  in  the  village  for  united  worship ;  and 
together  celebrated  the  Supper  of  the  Lord.  To  allay  possible  prejudice,  the  parish 
priest  had  been  asked  whether  he  would  at  all  object  to  such  a  gathering.  On  the 
contrary,  he  was  most  happy  that  it  should  be  held.  It  was  afterward  resolved,  I 
may  add,  that  the  offerings  collected  at  the  service  should  be  placed  in  his  hands  for 
the  poor  of  the  place — a  proof  of  goodwill  from  Protestant  visitors  which  seemed  to 
touch  him  and  others  in  the  village  very  deeply.  In  the  evening  we  reassembled  for 
united  prayer,  when  our  friend  the  Canon  preached  an  exquisite  sermonette,  appro- 
priate both  to  the  day  and  the  occasion,  on  ''  walking  not  after  the  llesh,  but  after 
the  Spirit."     We  joined  in  Miss  Auber's  beautiful  hymn. 

Our  Blest  Redeemer,  ere  He  breathed 

His  tender  last  farewell, 
A  Guide,  a  Comforter  bequeathed. 
With  us  to  dwell, 

and  united  in  the  earnest  prayer  that  those  who  were  to  be  reminded  during  the 
ensuing  weeks  and  months,  in  their  own  vivid  way,  of  the  history  of  Redemption, 
might  understand  their  personal  need  of  a  Saviour,  and  give  their  hearts  and  lives 
to  Him. 

But  none  the  less,  for  all  these  happy  and  sacred  associations,  do  I  regard  it  as 
a  serious  misfortune  that  the  great  tide  of  tourists  has  been  turned  in  1880  to  Ober- 
Ammergau. 

126 


n 

3 


yS-S-  Z  '• .'  ^"^f  #"^5:2f«f?;';*'';.:^ V'.T?^2^ ' W^ .-'-'  -r 


THE   TYROL  AND   THE   EASTERN   ALPS. 


SWITZERLAND,  as  every  one  knows,  has  its  "Regular  Round";  the  ways  in 
the  Tyrol  are  less  beaten,  and  the  traveler  in  search  of  the  picturesque  has  an 
almost  boundless  diversity  of  choice.  Nor  can  it  be  said  that  one  part  of  this  moun- 
tain region  is  so  far  beyond  others  in  beauty  as  to  claim  a  visit  at  the  sacrifice  of  all 
the  rest.  The  Eastern  Alps  have  no  Oberland,  no  Mont  Blanc.  Nor  are  there 
here  the  lakes  that  make  every  part  of  Switzerland  so  glorious  ;  although  the 
Traunsee,  in  the  Salzkammergut,  and  the  Konigssee,  south  of  Salzburg,  are  of 
scarcely  inferior  attraction.  The  Tyrol  is  emphatically  a  mountain  district;  "the 
great  granitic  backbone  or  framework  of  Europe  runs  entirely  through  Tyrol  from 
west  to  east.  It  is  flanked  on  both  its  northern  and  southern  slopes  with  a  zone  of 
slate  rocks,  which  are  in  turn  overlapped  by  a  calcareous  zone  ;  but  as  a  general  rule 
the  central  granite  overlaps  the  flanking  ridges.  It  forms  several  knots  or  groups  of 
mountains,  and  sends  off  several  secondary  chains  north  and  south  within  the 
boundaries  of  the  land,  which  hence  is  composed  of  little  else  but  mountains.  It  is 
traversed  by  two  principal  valleys,- that  of  the  Inn,  in  the  north  of  the  central  chain, 
that  of  the  Adige,  to  the  south  of  it  ;  to  which  may  be  added  the  long  trough 
between  the  mountains,  formed  by  the  union  of  the  Pusterthal  and  Eisack  valleys." 
To  this  succinct  sumniary,  it  may  be  added  that  all  through  the  Alpine  region 
to  the  south  of  the  Pusterthal  and  east  of  the  Adige,  comprising  also  the  "  Venetian 

129 


THE  TYROL  AND  THE  EASTERN  ALPS. 

Alps  "  of  Italy,  there  occurs  the  singular  formation  known  as  Dolomite,  from  the 
name  of  the  French  geologist,  Dolomieu,  who  first  described  it.  The  dolomite 
mountains  are  unlike  any  others  in  the  world.  They  stand  sometimes  like  vast 
obelisks  or  towers  splintered  downward  ;  often  in  serrated  ridges,  with  sharp  peaks 
shooting  into  the  air,  high  above  the  line  of  perpetual  snow.  They  are  white  and 
barren,  there  are  no  rounded  shapes  or  gentle  slopes  on  which  to  rest  the  eye  ;  they 
are  often  imposing,  fantastic,  hardly  beautiful.  Their  structure  is  magnesian  lime- 
stone, but  with  these  two  great  points  of  distinction  from  mountain  limestone 
generally :  first,  the  strata  are  upturned,  the  rock  set  on  edge,  as  it  were  ;  and  next, 
the  structure  is  crystalline,  as  though  some  great  and  sudden  heat  had  penetrated 
the  pores  of  the  rock,  at  the  time  of  its  upheaval.  By  what  mighty  catastrophe  the 
effect  was  produced  is  a  question  for  geologists  ;  perhaps  it  can  never  be  wholly 
solved  ;  meanwhile,  a  visit  to  this  region,  wild  and  solitary  as  it  is,  towering  above  a 


ST.    CHRISTOPH,    ON    THE    ARLBERG    ROUIK. 


country  studded  with  fair,  verdant  oases,  and  dotted  over  with  charming  villages, 
forms  one  of  the  most  delightful  excursions  that  the  mountain  land  of  Europe  can 
furnish. 

Like  most  other  travelers,  I  entered  the  Tyrol  by  Innsbruck,  its  beautiful 
metropolis.  This  may  be  done  either  by  way  of  the  Lake  of  Constance,  starting 
from  Lindau,  a  fine  mountain  excursion,  by  rail  as  far  as  Bludenz,  thence  over  the 
Arlberg,  striking  the  Valley  of  the  Inn  at  Landeck  ;  or  by  Immenstadt  and  Kemp- 
ten,  thence  by  the  pass  and  fortress  of  Ehrenberg.  Near  this  route  is  also  the  beau- 
tiful castle  of  Hohenschwangau,  a  summer  residence  of  the  King  of  Bavaria.  But 
my  way  to  Innsbruck  was  by  rail  from  Munich,  a  route  sufficiently  delightful.  At 
first  it  lay  over  the  Bavarian  plain,  where  the  fields,  undivided  by  hedges,  already 
gave  rich  promise  of  harvest ;  and  the  farm-laborers,  including  many  women,  who 
seem  in  many  places  here  to  have  the  hardest  and  roughest  work  assigned  them, 
were  busy  everywhere.  I  noticed  the  village  spires,  as  numerous  as  in  a  Northamp- 
tonshire landscape  ;  and  the  snug  homesteads  on  the  open  plain  told  of  an  industrious, 
well-to-do  rural  population.     At  length  the  line  of    Alps  seemed  suddenly  to  rise 

130 


sr 


y 


132 


DOLOMITE    mountains:     the    DKEI    ZINNEN. 


THE  TYROL  AND   THE  EASTERN  ALPS. 

before  the  eye — a  majestic  barrier  towering  sheer  above  the  level  country.  We 
entered  at  a  broad  opening  where  the  Inn  comes  forth  into  the  plain,  a  broad 
majestic  flood  after  its  long  course  among  the  hills,  and  pursued  our  way  between 
grand  mountain  walls  on  either  side,  covered  in  their  beautiful  lower  slopes  with 
forests  of  pine  and  beech.  Ancient  castles,  some  in  ruins,  and  upon  many  a  wooded 
rocky  knoll,  on  the  lower  heights,  show  how  important  the  pass  was  once  esteemed  for 
purposes  of  defense.  But  the  signs  of  busy  industry  are  more  prominent  now  than 
those  of  warfare.  At  Hall  there  are  large  salt  works  ;  on  the  hillsides  are  modest, 
yet  substantial  mansions,    suggesting   commercial    prosperity.     The    snow-crowned 


INNSr.RUCK. 


mountain  heights  grow  bolder  and  more  precipitous  as  we  advance.  The  opening 
to  the  Zillerthal,  with  its  distant  glaciers,  is  seen  to  the  left.  Right  in  front  are  the 
dark  antl  threateninsj  orccinices  which  overhan^'  the  Brenner.  But  at  lenqth  the 
Inn  is  crossed;  a  long  curving  viaduct  spans  the  vallej',  for  all  the  world  like 
the  London  and  Greenwich  Raihva)-,  the  train  swiftly  traverses  it,  and  we  are  in 
Innsbruck. 

One  thing  here  surprised  me.  When  we  are  told,  as  every  one  who  describes 
Innsbruck  tells  us,  that  the  mountains  are  so  close  that  they  seem  to  look  down  into 
the  streets,  the  inference  is  that  the  air  of  the  place  must  necessarily  be  confined  and 
rela.\incr.  Nothing  could  be  a  greater  mistake.  It  is  true  that  the  sun-blinds  out- 
side  every  window  speak  of  summer  heats  ;  but  the  double  windows  equally  suggest 
much  winter  cold  and  heavy  storms.      The   climate,  no  doubt,  is  changeable  ;  but   at 

133 


THE  TYROL  AND  THE  EASTERN  ALPS. 

the  time  of  my  visit,  through  clouded  or  sunny  spring  days  alike,  the  air  was  glori- 
ously fresh  and  exhilarating.  In  fact,  the  mountains  are  not  near  ;  as  the  pedestrian 
will  soon  find,  if  he  starts  forth,  as  many  are  tempted  to  do,  for  a  stroll  up  their 
sides.  They  are  miles  away,  and  it  is  only  their  great  height  and  steepness  which 
make  them  seem  to  overhang.  The  ascent  to  the  little  hill  of  Amras,  where 
stands  an  old  castle — an  easy  walk  of  about  an  hour — places  the  spectator  in  the 
midst  of  a  magnificent  amphitheater  of  snow-flecked  limestone  heights,  guarding  a 


INHABITANTS    OF    HIGHER    ALPS. 


richly  verdant  valley,  dotted  everywhere  with  villages,  and  the  broad  river  running 
swiftly  by,  with  the  Brenner  railway  just  visible  between  the  towns  of  Innsbruck  and 
Hall.  No  introduction  to  the  beauties  of  the  Tyrol  can  be  better  than  this  charming 
view. 

Returning  to  the  town,  we  find  in  the  Ferdinandeum  a  small  but  well-arranged 
museum  illustrating  the  history,  products,  and  manufactures  of  the  Tyrol.  There  are 
some  good  paintings  by  Tyrolese  artists,  and  many  fine  specimens  of  wood-carving, 
while  the  mineral  and  floral  treasures  of  the  region  arc  very  completely'  displayed. 
The  great  salt  industry  of  the  Hall  district  contributes  several  specimens,  and  illus- 
trations of  the  processes  employed.  But  even  more  attractive  to  the  majority  of 
visitors  are  the  few  treasured  relics  of  the  Tyrolese  patriot  Andrew  Hofer,  the  village 

134 


THE  TYROL  AND   THE  EASTERN  ALPS. 


innkeeper,  whom  his  fellow-countrymen  called  to  their  head  in  their  great  insurrec- 
tion against  Napoleon  in    1809,  and  whose  memory  is  passionately  honored  still  as 


-,  ^  -)^i^/^Kf^^"  ©^'V^^^-.^  ^te^^^fc--- 


Ssiil 


^n^ 


that  of  a  martyr  to  the  cause 
of  patriotism  and  freedom. 

The  monument  of  Hofer 
in  the  Hofkirche  shows  the 
man  as  he  must  have  been, 
a  plain,  honest  countryman, 
with  massive,  determined  face. 
His  statue  represents  him 
standing  with  his  rifle  slunsf 
over  his  shoulder,  while  one 
hand  grasps  the  banner  of  his 
fatherland.  Opposite  to  this 
noble  memorial  is  a  monument 
surmounted  by  a  crucifix  to 
his  Tyrolcse  comrades  who 
fell  in  the  struggle,  with  the 
inscription,  "To  its  own  chil- 
dren who  fell  in  freedom's 
battle ;  their  grateful  father- 
land"; and  on  the  pedestal  of 
the  cross :  "  Death  is  swal- 
lowed up  in  victory." 

In    this    same    church    is 

the     wonderful     cenotaph    of 

the  Emperor   Maximilian  the 

riie  first  effect,  on   enterinq-  the 


First,  occupying  almost  the  whole  of  the    nave 
edifice,  is  somewhat  startling.      On  each  side  of  the  aisle,  upon  small  pedestals  raised 
only  a  few  inches  above  the  floor,  stands  a  line  of  gigantic  bronze  figures,  men  and 

135 


THE  TYROL  AND  THE  EASTERN  ALPS. 

women,  warriors,  kings,  and  queens,  all  in  their  armor,  or  robes  of  state.  They 
were  all  cast  in  or  near  the  former  half  of  the  sixteenth  century,  and  are  intended  to 
represent  the  worthies  of  Europe  down  to  that  period ;  all  standing,  as  in  grim 
homage,  about  the  tomb  in  which  the  remains  of  Maximilian — are  not  !  Clovis  of 
France,  Rudolph  of  Hapsburg,  Godfrey  of  Bouillon,  and  Arthur  of  England,  are 
among  these  efifigies  ;  with  others,  nearer  to  Maximilian's  own  time.  The  figures 
are  twenty-eight  in  number,  including  two  which  face  the  nave,  on  either  side  of  the 
choir.  In  the  midst  of  them  is  the  marble  mausoleum,  eight  or  ten  feet  above  the 
floor,  surmounted  by  a  bronze  statue  of  the  emperor  kneeling  ;  and  in  the  four  sides 
of  the  tomb,  which   is  surrounded  by  an   open  gilded  screen,  there  are  twenty-four 


ANDREW    HOFER  S    HOUSE    IN    THE    PASSERIUAL. 


bas-reliefs  of  fine  Carrara  marble,  arranged  in  two  rows  and  protected  by  glass,  rep- 
resenting successive  stages  in  the  life  of  Maximilian  from  his  marriage  in  1447  to 
the  defense  of  Verona  against  the  French  in  15 16.  These  tablets  are  mostly  in 
excellent  preservation,  and  both  for  their  artistic  and  their  historical  value  deserve 
most  careful  study.  In  one  of  them,  the  Battle  of  Guinegate,  15 15,  our  own  Henry 
VIII  is  introduced.  The  fidelity  of  history,  it  must  be  owned,  is  in  some  instances 
sacrificed,  in  order  to  bring  together  great  personages  connected  with  the  story. 

A  word  must  be  added  as  to  the  remarkable  cleanliness  and  even  elegance  of 
this  beautiful  little  town.  The  principal  streets  are  broad  and  stately,  the  "  Platze  " 
are  well  kept  ;  the  shops,  and  especially  those  of  the  booksellers  and  photographers, 
are  well  stocked  and  most  attractive.  The  signs  of  an  educated  community  are  on 
every  hand  ;  Innsbruck,  in  fact,  is  a  University  city,  the  instruction  being  absolutely 
gratuitous,  and   exhibitions   to   a  considerable   amount   being  awarded  to  the  most 

136 


THE   TYROL  AXD  THE  EASTERN  ALPS. 


successful  students.  V^erily,  the  Tyrolese  have  good  cause  to  be  proud  of  their 
little  metropolis. 

Two  roads  lead  to  Botzen  from  Innsbruck.  One  follows  the  course  of  the  Inn 
as  far  as  Finstermunz,  on  the  Swiss  frontier,  thence  ascending  southward,  leaving 
the  valley  of  the  Engadine  to  the  riglit  hand,  and  descending  to  Meran,  past  the 
foot  of  the  Stelvio  Pass.  No  excursion  can  be  more  superb,  especially  where  the 
Ortler  Spitze,  the  grandest  snow-peak  in  the  Tyrol,  if  not  in  Europe,  is  full  in  view. 
The  Stelvio  itself  is  unquestionably  the  grandest  mountain  high  road  over  the  Alps. 
It  is  to  be  deplored  that,  through  the  competition  of  shorter  routes,  this  incompara- 
ble road  is  likely  to  become  neglected.  Recent  travelers  in  the  early  spring  describe 
it  as  being  in  parts  even  dangerous, 
from  the  effect  of  winter  avalancJies 
and  torrents. 

When  the  St.  Gothard  and  the 
Simplon  passes  are  both  crossed  by 
railway,  and  their  grandest  points,  like 
those  of  Mont  Cenis  already,  are  lost 
in  tunnels,  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  the 
Stelvio  road  will  remain  intact,  to  show 
our  children  how  grand  and  inspiring  a 
thing  it  once  was  to  cross  the  Alps  ! 

With  all  the  magnificence  of  the 
Finstermunz  Pass,  however,  only  the 
few  can  be  found  to  traverse  it.  The 
niajority  of  travelers  will  always  choose 
tile  eas)'  route — and  it  is  very  easy — 
f)ver  the  Brenner.  This,  also,  has 
beauties  of  its  own.  It  mounts  among 
grandly  swelling  hills  clothed  with  pine 
forests,  while  every  opening  between 
the  heights  discloses  snow-crowned 
mountain  peaks  in  the  distance.     The 

railway  never  reaches  the  perpetual  snow  line ;  Brenner  itself  is  but  a  kind  of 
open  moorland,  so  sharply  dividing  the  two  valleys  that  the  fountain-head  of  the  Sill, 
the  tributary  of  the  Inn,  by  the  side  of  which  our  upward  course  has  for  the  most 
part  lain,  is  but  a  few  yards  distant  from  that  of  the  Eisack,  which  we  are  now  to 
accompany  downward.  The  descent  is  very  gradual,  and  the  railway  makes  some 
mighty  curves  ;  a  party  of  our  fellow-travelers  alighted  at  one  station  and  laughingly 
rejoined  it  at  the  next,  after  a  journey  to  us  of  some  miles — to  them  a  pleasant  run 
down  a  mountain  path.  Perhaps  the  grandest  part  of  the  whole  journey  is  when  the 
railway  enters  a  long  gorge  inclosed  between  vast  porphyry  rocks  with  great  co- 
lumnar precipices,  between  which  the  river,  the  post  road,  and  the  railway  have  hardly 
space  to  pass.  In  fact,  there  are  places  where  the  railway  has  no  room  at  all,  and 
cuts  the  knot  of  the  difficulty  by  diving  into  a  tunnel.  Above  these  precipices  are 
broad  table-lands,  with  woods,  pastures,  and  many  a  village,  of  which  now  and  then 
we  obtain  a  glimpse.  Castles,  some  dismantled,  others  still  strongly  fortified,  stand 
at  int(-rvals  along  the  heights;  and  it  is  easy  to  understand  how  the  valley  might  be 

137 


ANDREW    HOFER. 


TJIF.   TYROL  AND  THE  EASTERN  ALPS. 


/,/.-*]»•, 


made  impregnable  to  the  invader.  Here,  too,  we  hear  of  Andrew  Hofer's  stand,  and 
of  his  victories,  until  diplomacy  and  treachery  brought  about  an  overthrow  which 
could  never  liave  occurred  in  fair  fight. 

On  reaching  Botzen,  the  traveler  well  may  ask  whether  he  is  yet  in  the  German 
Fatherland.  It  is  even  so,  as  every  Tyrolese  would  tell  him.  As  I  passed  from  the 
train,  the  distant  reverberation  of  rif^e-practice  among  the  hills  fell  upon  my  ear,  and 
in  an  evening  walk  outside  the  town  I  met  a  party  of  volunteers,  or  regular  soldiers 
— I  could  not  decide  which — jodcling^  melodiously  as  they  kept  time  to  their  music. 
Yes,  we  are  in  Germany  still  ;  and  yet  it  is  Italy.  Gradually,  as  we  have  passed 
downward,  the  hillsideshave  become  clothed  with  vines:  the  chestnut,  the  fig,  and 
even  the  olive  have  appeared.      In  the  garden  of  the  hotel  where   I  take  up  my 

quarters  there  are  growing  the  palm  and 
the  lemon  ;  and  my  evening  walk  leads 
past  low-trellised  vines,  after  the  fashion 
so  familiar  in  Italy,  now  in  the  full  glory 
of  their  spring  leafage. 

But  the  chief  interest  of  Botzen  is 
that  now  for  the  first  time  we  come  face 
to  face  with  the  wonderful  Dolomite  for- 
mation to  which  reference  has  alread)' 
been  made.  I  shall  not  soon  forget  my 
first  view  of  these  marvelous  mountains, 
seen  in  the  distance  like  a  gigantic  wall, 
with  splintered  pinnacles  on  one  side  of 
it,  touched  with  crimson  splendor  by  the 
setting  sun,  then  suddenly  becoming 
white,  bare,  almost  ghastly  as  the  light 
faded.  The  mountains  thus  visible  are 
the  Schlern  and  the  Rosengarten  groups  ; 
and  nothing  can  be  more  striking  than 
the  contrast  between  their  white  stern 
bareness  and  the  smiling  beauty  of  the 
hills  that  form  the  foreground. 
But  we  have  not  yet  reached  the  German  limit  ;  and  before  we  retrace  our 
steps — for  not  for  us  now  is  it  to  enter  Italy — there  is  one  other  city  of  ancient  fame 
at  which  we  must  at  least  steal  a  glance.  This  is  Trient,  better  known  as  Trent,  the 
scene  of  the  famous  Council,  which  for  more  than  three  hundred  years  has  given  tone 
and  direction  to  Roman  Catholic  belief.  The  city  is  worth  a  visit  for  its  own  sake, 
notwithstanding  the  long  and  dreary  level  which  separates  it  from  Botzen.  The  city 
of  the  thirty  towers — whence  its  name — still  retains  its  ancient  characteristics.  Most 
of  the  towers  are  standing  to  this  day  :  the  embattled  walls  remain,  almost  perfect  ; 
the  rocks  which  surround  it  are  its  natural  fastnesses.  It  was  a  place  where  in  the 
troubled  days  of  tlie  sixteenth  century  the  north  and  the  south  might  safely  meet  ; 
and  accordingly  the  great  Council  held  its  assemblies  from  1545  to  1563  without 
molestation.  All  other  associations  of  Trient  must  yield  to  this  in  its  peculiar  kind 
of  interest;  and  accordingly,  fine  as  is  the  cathedral,  my  steps  were  rather  directed 

'  Singing  a  sportive  mu-ic,  with  gay  alternations  in  pitch  and  rhythm. 
13S 


TOMB    OF    MAXIMILIAN. 


140 


ON    THli    nxSTERMUNZ    PASS. 


THE  TYROL  AND   THE  EASTERN  ALPS. 

to  the  church  of  Santa  Maria  Maofcriore,  where  most  of  the  sessions  of  the  Council 
were  held,  and  where  still  may  be  seen,  when,  for  a  consideration,  the  curtain  is  with- 
drawn, the  rude  portraits  of  the  cardinals  and  patriarchs,  the  archbishops  and  bishops, 
the  abbots  and  professors — four  hundred  and  thirty-eight  in  all — who  made  that  bold 
attempt  to  fetter  human  thought  to  the  end  of  time.  There  is  a  monument  to  the 
Virgin,  erected  in  1855,  to  celebrate  the  tercentenary  of  the  Council  :  one  looks  at  it 
with  a  curious  feeling  as  to  what  may  be  the  issue  of  men's  thoughts  and  incjuiries  in 
the  next  three  hundred  years,  even  within  the  bosom  of  the  "infallible"  Church! 
Trient,  with  its  soft  Italian  climate,  is  a  place  in  which  to  dream  :  but  the  visions  of 
three  centuries  asfo  are  not  those  which  tlit  before  the  mind,  even  of  the  most  cred- 
uluous,  to-day. 

We  have  not  yet  reached  the  Italian  frontier  of  Germany,  but  it  is  time  to 
retrace  our  steps.  Already  nearly  all  that  is  characteristic  of  the  Fatherland  has 
been  lost  or  obscured — save,  indeed,  the  spirit  of  the  people.     Even  in  Trient  they 


do  not  forget,  nor  will  they  suffer  others  to  forget,  that  they  are  Tyrolese.  Still,  the 
national  character,  as  the  national  scenery,  is  best  discovered  farther  north  ;  and  I 
retrace  my  steps,  therefore,  a  little  distance  up  the  Brenner,  to  turn  eastward  along 
the  Pusterthal,  both  as  eivine  easiest  entrance  into  the  Dolomite  district,  and  as 
affordinor  to  the  observer  some  of  the  most  characteristic  studies  of  these  mountain 
people. 

The  line  diverges  eastward  at  Franzensveste,  passing  through  the  works  of  an 
imposing  fortress,  the  Ehrenbreitstein  of  the  pass  ;  then  entering  a  long  and  fertile 
but  somewhat  monotonous  valley  that  lies  like  a  vast  trough  between  the  mountains. 
Slightly  ascending  for  a  time,  by  the  bed  of  a  mountain  stream,  the  Rienz,  we  pur- 
sue our  way  at  a  rate  which  gives  us  ample  leisure  to  admire  the  scenery.  From 
time  to  time,  on  the  south  side,  majestic  Dolomite  peaks  appear,  especially  at  the 
head  of  the  valley,  where  at  Toblach  the  Val  Ampczzo  opens  up  toward  Italy.  At 
this  point  the  scene  is  truly  magnificent ;  the  giant  obelisks  and  ridges  of  bare  stone, 
flecked  with  snow,  contrasting  with  the  dark  pine  forests  on  the  mountain  sides 
beneath  ;  the  mountains  on  the  north  side  of  the  Pusterthal,  which  here  broadens 
into  a  kind  of  table-land,  are   richly  picturescpie,  while  \\\i  the  southern   valley  dark 

141 


THE  TYROL  AND   THE  EASTERN  ALPS. 

heights  frown  over  a  soHtary  little  lake.  At  Toblach,  at  the  meeting  of  the  val- 
leys, a  handsome,  Swiss-looking  hotel  was  in  course  of  erection  or  enlargement  at 
the  time  of  my  visit  ;  from  this  point  there  is  a  capital  carriage-road,  by  Cortina  and 
the  Val  Cadore,  Titian's  birthplace,  through  the  heart  of  the  Dolomite  scenery  a^ 
far  as  Conegliano,  where  the  railway  is  joined  at  a  distance  of  thirty-six  miles  from 
Venice.  The  distance  from  Toblach  to  Conegliano  is  about  one  hundred  miles; 
but  if  the  Dolomite  mountains  are  the  traveler's  aim,  and  he  does  not  care  to  go 
on  to  Venice,  Cortina  will  be  an  excellent  halting-place  ;  and  excursions  can 
thence  be  made  to  every  part  of  this  most  remarkable  district.  It  is  easy  to  see 
that  this  route,  at  present  little  known  in  England,  will  become  a  familiar  one  when 
only  the  traveler's  wants  are  met,  as  is  so  admirably  done  in  Switzerland,  by  a  chain 


of  good  hotels.  At  present,  I  am  bound  to  say,,  the  accommodation  is  in  general 
very  homely,  although  almost  everywhere  through  the  Tyrol  the  inns  are  scrupu- 
lously clean.  At  Toblach,  as  we  have  seen,  every  possible  requirement  of  the 
tourist  is  likely  to  be  met. 

Many  another  excursion  among  beautiful  and  picturesque  scenery  may  be  taken 
by  the  valleys  south  of  the  Pusterthal  :  but  that  to  Heiligenblut,  in  a  northward 
direction,  is  even  grander.  I  was  not  able  to  take  it  myself  :  but  some  fellow-trav- 
elers, who  spent  two  or  three  days  in  the  trip,  starting  from  Lienz,  described  it  as 
surpassing  any  other  in  the  Tyrolese  region  in  every  characteristic  of  mountain  sub- 
limity. The  drive,  for  almost  twenty  miles,  along  a  somewhat  rough  road,  in  a 
country  einspanner,  was  not  a  difficult  one,  crossing  the  Iselberg,  a  low  ridge  that 
separates  the  Tyrol  from  Carinthia,  and  commanding  southward  a  fine  view  of  the 
Dolomite  mountains.  After  a  short  descent,  the  road,  winding  upward  by  a  moun- 
tain torrent  with  some  striking  waterfalls,  discloses  scenes  of  increasing  beauty  until 
the   village  of  Heiligenblut  is  reached,  and  the  Gross  Glockner,  so  called  from  the 

142 


THE  TYROL  AND  THE  EASTERN  ALPS. 


bell-like  shape  of  its  graceful  dome,  appears  in  all  its  majesty — a  pyramid  of  dazzling 
snow  with  dark  rocks  projecting  on  its  flanks,  and  other  mountain  peaks  surround- 
ing ;  while  the  vast  Pasterze  Glacier 
descends  into  the  valley,  giving 
rise  to  the  river  Moll,  by  which 
beautiful  mountain  stream  the  lat- 
ter part  of  the  route  has  lain.  The 
glacier  is  still  better  seen,  and  the 
group  of  mountains  more  glori- 
ously disclosed,  from  a  height  to 
be  reached  by  a  rough  walk  of 
four  hours,  and  named,  after  an  im- 
perial visit  in  1856,  the  "Franz 
Joseph's  Hohe."  This  view  may 
justly  be  classed  with  those  from 
the  Montanvert,  from  the  Corner 
Grat,  and  from  Miirren  ;  though 
differing  from  them  all,  as  they  do 
one  from  another.  The  mountain 
peaks  in  their  white  majesty  form 
a  magnificent  group,  and  the  gla- 
cier lies  immediately  below,  divided 
into  two  parts  by  a  stupendous 
ice-fall — a  "  motionless,  silent  cat- 
aract." The  grandeur  and  varietv 
of  the  prospect  came  as  a  surprise 
to  those  who  had  been  familiar 
chiefly  with  the  Alpine  world  as 
seen  in  Switzerland ;  and  much 
wonder  was  expressed  that  a  dis- 
trict so  rich  in  all  the  elements  of 
the  sublime  should  be  so  compara- 
tively little  visited  by  Englishmen. 
Undoubtedly,  it  lies  somewhat  out 
of  the  beaten  track.  The  Glock- 
ner  range,  and  its  near  neighbor 
and  worthy  compeer,  the  Gross 
Venediger,  have  until  recently  been 
among  the  most  difficult  of  access 
of  all  the  giants  of  the  Alps.  The 
way  taken  to  them  has  generally 
been  along  the  Upper  Salzach 
valley,     the     Pinzgau  ;     ascending 

then  one  or  other  of  the  wild  glens  terminating  in  the  glaciers  which  descend  frcmi 
these  mountains  ;  a  task  not  to  be  attempted  by  any  but  the  hardiest  pedestrians, 
accustomed  to  glacier  walking.  The  Pusterthal  railway  now  makes  access  easier,  by 
enabling  the  traveler  to  attack  these  mountains,  so  to  speak,  in  Hank  ;  and  certainly 

143 


THE    EGGENTHAL,    SOUTHEAST    OK    BOTZEN. 


THE  TYROl  AND  THE  EASTERN  ALPS. 


no  excursion  can  be  taken  more  abounding  in  all  that  can  astonish  and  delight  even 
those  who  are  most  familiar  with  Switzerland.  The  region  will  undoubtedly  become 
more  familiar  to  our  summer  and  autumn  tourists  :  and  then  its  great  dcsidcratityn 
will  be  supplied  by  the  provision  of  decent  mountain  inns.  As  it  is,  the  accommo- 
dation, where  there  is  any,  is  of  the  poorest. 

It  might  be  added  that  there  is  yet  another  way,  easier  than  any  of  the  fore- 
o-oing,  although,  as  I  had  no  opportunity  of  testing  it,  I  can  only  describe  it  as 
described  to  me.  By  this  route  a  view  of  these  grand  scenes  may  be  obtained  at  the 
cost  of  three  days'  not  difficult  walking,  or  one  day's  rough  drive  and  two  days 
walk,  from  the  Bruneck  Station,  also  on  the  Pusterthal  line.  The  route  lies  first  by 
a  practicable  carriage  road  up  the  valley  of  Taufers,  beyond  which  village  the  copper 
mines  of  the  district  give  employment  to  a  numerous  population,  whose  hamlets  dot 
the  hill-side,  while  in  many  places  the  unsightly  heaps  of  refuse  from  the  ore  show 

the  nature  of  its  industry.  The  river 
Ahren  waters  the  valley,  which  after  some 
time  contracts,  and  the  road  steeply  as- 
cends between  scenes  of  the  richest  and 
most  varied  beauty  ;  the  glens  which  open 
up  on  the  left  hand  continually  disclosing 
the  snowy  summits  of  the  Zillerthal  range, 
while  on  the  rio;ht  and  in  front  the 
mighty  masses  of  the  Gross  Venediger 
group  from  time  to  time  appear  ;  espe- 
cially of  the  Dreiherrnspitze,  from  the 
chief  glacier  of  which  the  Ahren  issues. 
At  nightfall  the  traveler  reaches  the  high- 
est group  of  houses,  the  village  of  Kasern, 
where  he  will  find  homely  quarters,  unless 
he  had  elected  to  stay  at  St.  Valentin,  a 
somewhat  more  inviting  village,  a  little  lower  down.  In  the  morning  the  course  of 
the  torrent  is  ascended  by  a  rough,  rocky  track  for  about  two  hours  and  a  half,  near  to 
where  it  breaks  from  the  glazier,  when  the  summit  of  the  pass  is  attained,  eight 
thousand  nine  hundred  and  ninety-four  feet  in  height.  The  way  lies  over  rocks,  with 
snow  patches  interspersed  ;  the  glacier  world  seems  to  surround  the  traveler  on  every 
side,  groups  of  blasted  pines  form  the  foreground  of  the  scene,  and  the  roar  of  torrents 
fills  the  air.  The  Tauern  Thorl  is  traversed  until  the  downward  slope  is  reached. 
Then  a  very  steep  descent  leads  by  the  Windbach,  the  Western  branch  of  the 
Ache,  the  main  feeder  of  the  Salzach  ;  the  torrent  is  crossed  where  the  western  -and 
eastern  branches  meet,  and  for  eight  or  nine  miles  the  path  continues  downward,  on 
the  right  bank  of  the  Ache,  amid  the  most  magnificent  scenery  on  both  sides,  to 
Krimml,  where  another  night  should  be  spent,  as  some  hours  ought  to  be  devoted 
to  exploring  what  has  been  called,  with  hardly  any  exaggeration,  the  finest  waterfall 
in  Europe.  That  this  astonishingly  grand  cascade  is  so  little  known  to  English 
tourists,  can  only  be  explained  by  the  great  difficulty  of  access  to  it.  It  is  a 
weary  hour's  walk  from  Krimml  to  the  cascade,  and  another  hour  is  necessary  to 
climb  to  the  upper  and  finest  part  of  the  fall.  But  when  once  attained,  the  sight 
repays  all  fatigue. 
144 


TYROL  :    COUNTRY    WAGON. 


First,  in  a  sheer  leap  of  one  thousand  feet,  the  stream  precipi- 


146 


TAUKEKS. 


THE  TYROL  AND   THE  EASTERN  ALPS. 

tates  itself  over  the  rock,  then  after  a  brief  pause  in  a  deep  and  seething  caldron,  it 
thunders  down  in  a  second  fall  over  wild  and  tumbled  rocks,  the  channel  bordered 
by  moss-clad  precipices  and  overhanging  pine  trees,  while  clouds  of  spray  arise,  and 
in  the  sunshine  sparkle  with  countless  rainbow  hues  ;  then,  flowing  on  for  a  while, 
the  stream  gathers  strength  for  a  final  plunge,  and  widening,  dashes  down  another 
rocky  staircase  into  the  abyss  below.  In  the  three  falls,  together,  the  torrent 
descends  two  thousand  feet ;  and  the  dark  pine  woods  which  clothe  the  gorge,  with 
the  rocks,  some  moss-grown,  some  black  and  bare,  in  contrast  with  the  white  foam  of 


BRUNECK. 


the  hurrying  waters,  as  seen  in  the  sunlight  of  a  fair  afternoon  in  May,  combined  to 
make  a  picture  never  to  be  forgotten. 

From  Krimml,  the  traveler  finds  a  comparatively  easy  way  through  dark  pine 
forests  to  the  head  of  the  Gerlos,  and  down  the  course  of  that  stream  to  Zell  in 
the  Zillerthal  ;  from  which  there  is  a  communication  by  diligence  to  the  railway 
between  Kufstein  and  Innsbruck.  There  is  hardly  a  mountain  walk  in  Europe, 
within  the  same  compass,  as  those  who  have  taken  it  agree  in  saying,  which  from 
the  varied  grandeur  of  its  mountain  and  glacier  scenery,  and  its  glory  of  forest  and 
of  waterfall,  leaves  on  the  imagination  a  more  ineffaceable  impression  than  this 
three  days'  excursion  from  Bruneck  to  Zi;ll. 

My  own  route,  however,  was  eastward  from  Lienz,  into  Carinthia  and  Styria. 
The  lionler  of  the   Tjrol  was  crossed  soon  after  leaving  Lienz  ;  and  thenceforward 

147 


THE  TYROL  AND  THE  EASTERN  ALPS. 


for  many  miles  the  way  lay  along  the  valley  of  the  Drave,  the  source  of  which  had 
been  passed  at  the  summit  of  the   Pucterthal  near  Toblach,  but  which  soon  widens 

into  a  beautiful  river.     As  we  descend 
he  valley  the  scenery  becomes  softer, 
till   retaining,  however,  something  of 
ts  wildness,  with  fine  occasional  views 
if  Dolomite  crags  and  snowy  summits 
intil  Villach  is  reached,  "  the  town  of 
I'aters,"  so  called  from  its   hot  springs, 
ir  else  from  the  confluence  here  of  the 
Drave  with  the  Gail,  another  consider- 
able stream  from  the  southwest.     The 
nountain    range   which    separates    the 
wo  valleys,  the  Drobatsch  Alp,   here 
links  almost  abruptly  down  to  the  plain, 
uid  its  ascent  affords  some  magnificent 
Mews,  which  make  it  worth  the  travel- 
;r's  while  to  stay  for  a  day  at  this  little 
"armthian  town.     Here,  too,  are  some 
loteworthy  historic   memories ;    for    it 
was    here    that    the    Turks 
who,  during  the  fourteenth 
and  fifteenth  centuries,  had 
been    the  terror  of    South- 
eastern Europe,  received  a 
final    blow  from  the  Carin- 
thian   army,  aided  by  re-en- 
forcements   from    the    Em- 
peror    Maximilian.        The 
battle  of  Villach,  fought   in 
1492,  has    some    claim,  in- 
deed, to   rank  with    that  of 
Tours — which     had    driven 
back     the     Saracen      from 
Western  Europe  seven  cen- 
turies   before — among    the 
decisive  battles  of  the  world. 
Ten    thousand   Turks,  and 
seven  thousand  of  their  op- 
ponents, fell  in   the  sangu- 
inary   encounter;    and    the 
mound      raised     over     the 
bodies   of   the   slain    marks 
the    site    of    the    battle    to    this    day.        For   a    time,    we    now   quit    the    banks    of 
the    Drave,    reaching    the    shore    of    a    charming    lake,    above  which    the    railway 
runs    for    some    miles.     The    country  is    beautiful,  reminding    me   of  the    loveliest 
148 


KRIMMLER    FALL. 


THE  TYROL  AND  THE  EASTERN  ALPS. 

parts  of  Devonshire — save  that  women  were  working  everywhere  in  the  fields, 
and  seemed  in  many  places  to  have  the  hardest  part  of  the  toil,  the  "  Carin- 
thian  boors"  lounging  at  their  side!  After  a  time  Klagenfurt,  the  capital  of 
Carinthia,  was  reached,  in  an  open,  smiling  plain  ;  then,  after  a  long  run  through 
a  richly  undulating  country,  the  Drave,  which  had  been  crossed  soon  after 
leaving  Klagenfurt,  was  again  approached  on  the  confines  of  Styria  ;  where  for  sev- 
eral miles  the  railway  is  carried  along  its  right  bank  through  one  of  the  loveliest  of 
winding  glens.     On  both  sides  of  the  river,  hills  covered  with  fair  woods  slope  down 


UNTERDRAUBURG    ON    THE    DRAVE. 


almost  to  its  verge  ;  frequent  openings  between  their  heights  afford  charming 
glimpses  of  secluded  ravines;  the  river  winds  throughout  in  graceful  curves,  often 
occupying,  with  the  road  and  railway,  the  entire  space  between  the  mountains  ;  and 
the  deep  valley,  clothed  in  the  fresh  brilliant  coloring  of  spring-time,  seen  in  the  glow 
of  a  cloudless  sunset,  will  long  stand  out  in  my  remembrance  as  one  of  these  scenes 
of  absolutely  perfect  beauty,  which  were  surely  meant  to  suggest  the  thoughts  of  a 
richer  loveliness  and  a  more  exquisite  peace. 


O  God  !  O  good  beyond  compare  ! 

If  thus  Thy  meaner  works  are  fair, 

If  thus  Thy  beauties  gild  the  span 

Of  ruined  earth  and  sinful  man, 

How  glorious  must  the  mansion  be, 

Where  Thy  redeemed  shall  dwell  with  Thee. 


1,9 


THE  TYROL  AND   THE  EASTERN  ALPS. 

Perhaps,  as  I  happened  to  be  alone  in  the  railway  carriage,  there  was  more  scope 
for  such  thoughts  than  if  it  had  been  filled  with  passengers  ;  at  any  rate,  1  was  sorry 
when  the  train  drew  ;ip  at  Marburg,  and  the  day's  journey  was  done. 

Of  this  little  town,  the  second  in  Styria,  nestling  pleasantly  among  its  rounded, 
vine-clad  hills,  there  is  not  much  to  say.  Early  the  next  morning  I  was  en  route  for 
Gratz,  the  Styrian  capital,  turning  northward,  and  leaving  the  Drave  to  pursue  its 
southward,  or  rather  southeasterly,  course  to  the  Danube.  Gratz  is  a  populous, 
evidently  prosper(His  city,  and  is  finely  situated  ;  although  there  seemed  nothing  in 
it  of  commanding  interest  to  detain  a  traveler  long. 

Again  and  again  was  I   told  that,  being  at  Marburg,  so  near  to  the  southern 


KLAGENFURT  :  THE  DRAGON  FOUNTAIN. 


extremity  of  the  Austrian  Empire,  I  ought,  even  at  the  risk  of  leaving  everything 
else  unseen,  to  take  the  Trieste  railway  as  far  as  Adelsberg,  to  visit  the  Stalactite 
Caves.  This  advice,  as  I  did  not  profit  by  it,  I  leave  on  record  for  my  readers.  The 
cavern  is,  no  doubt,  the  grandest  of  these  natural  wonders  yet  discovered  in  Europe. 
Those  who  have  visited  the  Ingleborough  Caves  in  Yorkshire,  or  the  Cavern  of  the 
Peak  in  Derbyshire,  may  have  some  notion  of  what  Adelsberg  must  be,  with  its  vast 
halls,  its  wealth  of  drooping  stalactites  in  every  graceful  or  fantastic  form,  its  stalag- 
mites rising  in  graceful,  slender  beauty,  or  of  the  columns  and  arches  formed  where 
the  upward  and  the  downward  formations  meet  with  niches  and  projections  ;  and,  it 
almost  seems,  with  sculptured  forms  like  those  of  some  great  cathedral  not  made 
with  hands.  All  this  and  far  more  the  visitors  to  Adelsberg  may  see,  by  the  dim 
150 


THE  TYROL  AND  THE  EASTERN  ALPS. 


light  of  torches  makin<^  the  darkness  of  the  farther  recesses  and  of  the  lofty  vaults 
overhead  yet  more  awful  ;  while,  having-  traced  in  part  the  course  of  a  river  through 
the  cave,  they  may  hear  it,  at  another  point  of  their  weird  journey,  rushing  by 
unseen  to  the  abyss  where  it  disappears,  to  rise  into  light  at  a  distance  of  five  miles. 


IN    THE    CAVERN    OF    ADEI.SBEKG. 


For  a  mile  and  a  half  the  visitor  is  led  on  through  the  galleries  and  halls  of  this 
cavern  into  the  heart  of  the  mountain,  and  then  he  is  told  that  he  has  only  reached 
about  half  the  distance  that  has  Ixten  actually  explored.  For  him,  however,  it  is 
enough  ;  and  it  is  with  almost  a  new  sense  of  life  and  gladness  that  he  once  more 
sees  the  light  of  day  and  breathes  the  outer  air. 

The  railway  from  Trieste  to  Vienna  by  way  of  Marburg  and  Gratz,  b)'  wliicli   I 
was  now  traveling,  is  chielly  remarkable  as  being  the  first  in  which  it  was  attempted 

151 


THE  TYROL  AND  THE  EASTERN  ALPS. 

to  cross  tlie  Alpine  chain  liy  rail.  It  was  in  the  year  1854  that  the  Semmering  line 
was  opened  ;  other  mountain  railways  have  since  that  time  been  constructed,  but  this 
must  still  be  counted  the  greatest  because  the  first  ;  while  in  picturesque  beauty,  at 
least  on  the  northern  side,  it  is  inferior  to  none.  It  extends  in  all  for  rather  more  than 
twenty-five  miles,  beyinninir  from  Miirzzuschlafr  on  the  south,  and  endine  with 
Glosfsnitz  on  the  north  ;  the  Semmeringf  tunnel  beinsr  at  the  summit,  two  thousand 
eight  hundred  and  ninety-four  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea.  The  ascent  from  the 
south  is  comparatively  easy,  keeping  for  the  most  part  to  the  course  of  a  mountain 
torrent,  the  Miirz  ;  but  after  the  tunnel  is  passed,  the  descent,  across  ravines,  along 


the  face  of  tremendous  precipices, 
round  the  mountains  in  long  sweep- 
ing curves,  with  ever-varying  views  of 
dark  pine  forests,  green  valleys,  and 
snow-covered  peaks,  is  truly  magnifi- 
cent. The  glimpses  which  w^e  get,  in  descending,  of  the  great  viaducts  which 
span  the  gorges,  as  well  as  of  the  stupendous  galleries  in  which  the  line  is 
hung,  as  it  were  in  mid  air,  upon  the  cliffs,  reveal  even  to  the  untutored  eye  the 
engineering  marvels  of  the  work  ;  while  if  anything  were  needed  to  complete  the 
picturesqueness  of  the  scene,  it  would  be  furnished  by  the  villages  nestling  far  below 
in  the  deep  valleys,  or  by  the  castle-like  watch-towers  on  projecting  or  isolated  cliffs. 
It  is  a  journey  full  of  wontlcr,  yet  with  no  sense  of  danger.  One  feels  as  safe  on 
that  single  line,  curving  in  and  out  among  the  mountains,  and  looking  down  on  diz- 
zying depths,  as  on  the  Underground  Railway;  and  the  only  regret  is  when  the 
plain  is  reached,  and  we  settle  down  to  the  commonplace  again. 
152 


THE  TYROL  AND  THE  EASTERN  ALPS. 

From  Gloggniu  to  Vienna  the  way  lies  over  a  vast  plain,  presenting  no  features 
specially  noteworthy.  Arriving  once  more  at  the  great  city,  I  found  it  keeping  high 
festival.  It  was  Corptis  Chrisii  Day.  In  the  morning  the  Emperor  and  Empress 
had  walked  in  procession  through  the  streets,  meekly  following  the  Archbishop  and 
his  clergy,  who  bore  beneath  its  gorgeous  canopy  the  consecrated  "  Host"  ;  a  long 
train  of  courtiers  and  soldiers  bringing  up  the  rear,  and  the  vast  multitudes  kneeling 
as  they  passed.  The  rest  of  the  day  was  given  up  to  pleasure  ;  the  shops  were  shut, 
and  the  crowds  in  the  streets  and  public  parks,  in  holiday  costume,  presented  every 
phase  of  Viennese  life.  The  churches  were  crowded  too.  To  enter  them,  one 
would  think  that  the  people  were  the  devoutest  of  the  devout ;  pass  out  again,  and 
they  seemed  the  gayest  of  the  gay.  As  a  pleasure-loving  city,  delighting  in  any  oc- 
casion or  excuse  for  hearty,  unrestrained  enjoyment,  I  should  say,  judging  from  out- 
ward appearance  and  from  a  hasty  view,  that  Vienna  surpasses  Paris  itself  ;  while  I 
am  bound  to  add  that,  so  long  as  I  watched  the  lively,  passing  scene,  there  were  no 
signs  of  that  intemperance  which  in  so  many  places  degrades  and  brutalizes  the 
enjoyments  of  the  people.  Let  but  the  bright,  cordial  nature  of  these  Austrians  be 
tempered  by  seriousness,  by  earnest  purpose,  and  by  manly  Christian  teaching,  and 
few  people  could  be  more  attractive  in  themselves,  or  more  capable  of  noble  and 
generous  deeds. 


153 


154 


CASTLE    OF    HOHEN9CHWANGAU. 


156 


THE    GESAUSE    DEFILE  :     ROAD,    RAILWAY,    AND    RIVER. 


LINZ  :    ON    THE    DANUBE. 


FROM  VIENNA,  ON  THE  WAY  TO  THE  RHINE. 


^5^5^^p^HE  title  of  this  section  may  appear  roughly  chosen  ;  and  yet 
hardly  any  other  would  so  well  indicate  the  somewhat  random 
zigzag  journey  which  it  was  now  necessary  to  take  to  give  any 
completeness  to  our  view  of  the  German  Fatherland.  Having 
traversed  it  from  the  northeast,  and  made  an  extensive  circuit  in 
the  south,  there  yet  remained  the  great  central  plain  untouched, 
the  course  of  the  Danube,  the  Thuringian  Forest,  the  Taunus  Mountains, 
not  to  mention  other  districts,  with  world-famous  cities,  on  the  way  to  the 
valley  of  the  Rhine.  Let  the  names,  then,  of  these  two  great  rivers 
suggest  the  further  pictures  which,  out  of  the  many  possible,  we  have  now  room 
to  select. 

It  was  with  regret  that  I  turned  from  Eastern  Germany,  leaving  Hungary 
unvisited  ;  with  many  a  region  of  interest  besides  ;  particularly  the  Riesengebirge, 
or  Giant  Mountains,  in  the  north  of  the  Austrian  Empire,  on  the  border  between 
Bohemia  and  Prussian  Silesia.  The  heights  are  not  Ai[)ine,  but  the  hills  and  dales 
are  wonderfully  picturesque.  Then,  crossing  the  frontier,  there  is  the  valley  of  the 
Oder,  with  its  great  and  flourishing  city  of  Brcslau,  the  second  in  Prussia  ;  while 
higher  up  the  river  is  the  pleasant  old-world  town  of  Brieg,  from  which  the  village 

157 


FROM  VIENNA,  ON  THE  WA  Y  TO   THE  RHINE. 

of  Grafenberg  may  be  reached,  famed  for  Priessnitz  and  the  "water-cure."  From 
Brieg  again,  it  is  an  easy  run  by  railway  to  Cracow  and  the  Vistula.  But  my  steps 
had  to  be  turned  westward. 

A  rapid  journey  up  the  plain  of  the  Danube  from  Vienna  to  Linz  brings  the 
traveler  to  one  of  the  most  beautiful  parts  of  this  famous  river.  And  here  let  me 
say  that  if  disappointed  in  the  first  view  of  the  Danube,  I  had  abundant  compensa- 
tion now.  Its  waters,  after  all,  are  "  blue,"  at  least  when  seen  beneath  an  unclouded 
sky  ;  and  when  Linz  is  passed — a  distance  of  more  than  a  hundred  miles  from 
Vienna — the  banks  become  grandly  beautiful.      In  fact,  there  is  scarcely  a  finer  river 


DURRENSTEIN    CASTLE,    ON    THE    DANUBE. 


excursion  in  Europe  than  that  from  Linz  to  Passau,  upward,  or,  which  w^ould  have 
been  preferable,  had  the  plan  of  my  journey  so  been  ordered,  downward  from  Passau 
to  Linz,  the  voyage  with  the  current  being  performed  almost  twice  as  quickly  as  that 
against  it.  The  greater  part  of  the  course  lies  between  noble  hills  sloping  down  to 
the  very  edge  of  the  stream,  and  clothed  to  the  summit  with  dark  pine  forests.  The 
river  bends  continually,  often  seeming  closed  in  like  a  lake  ;  you  wonder  where  the. 
outlet  can  possibly  be  found,  until  a  sudden  turn  of  the  steamer  discloses  another 
scene  of  even  richer  beauty  than  the  last.  Here  and  there  gray  ruined  castles  appear 
in  the  midst  of  the  forests,  or  crown  some  bare,  projecting  rock  ;  and  little  villages 
upon  the  banks,  where  a  bend  in  the  hills  or  the  opening  of  a  narrow  ravine  gives 
room  for  a  few  cottages,  with  the  red  spire  of  their  little  church,  afford  a  welcome 
relief  to  the  eye,  for  after  a  while  the  sense  of  solitude  becomes  almost  intense. 
158 


RATHHAUS  :     BRIEG,    IN    SILESIA. 


l6o 


FROM  VIENNA,  ON  THE  WA  V  TO  THE  RHINE. 

The  loneliness  of  the  river  seems  unbroken  save  for  our  little  steamer,  and  the  world 
is  shut  out  on  either  side  by  those  vast  and  solemn  hills.  Great  timber  rafts  moored 
to  the  banks  of  the  river  are  the  only  signs  of  commerce  on  this  veritably  "silent 
highway."  So  the  river  continues,  for  some  thirty  or  forty  miles,  until  at  length, 
almost  suddenly,  the  towers  and  spires  of  a  considerable  town  appear  in  front,  with 
the  battlements  of  a  fortress  on  a  commanding-  hill.  A  little  farther  and  the  river 
appears  to  divide  into  two  streams,  the  broader  coming  down  in  strong  current  from 
the  south,  and  the  other  from  the  west  in  the  main  direction  of  our  course.  The 
former  and  larger  stream  is   the  Inn,  which  here  finishes  its  long  and  magnificent 


PASSAU. 


course  ;  the  latter  is  the  Danube.  On  the  bold  promontory  in  front  of  us,  at  the 
confluence  of  these  rivers,  lies  Passau,  the  frontier  town  between  Austria  and  Bavaria. 
Only  the  briefest  stay  is  practicable  here  ;  nor  is  there  much  to  detain  us  save  the 
grand  view  to  be  obtained  from  any  of  the  heights  of  the  two  valleys  ;  the  little 
dark-hued  Ilz,  too,  descending  from  the  Bohemian  Forest  in  the  north,  to  make  a 
humble  third  in  this  grand  meeting  of  the  waters.  Nor  is  the  place  without  its  his- 
toric memorials.  It  must  not  be  forgotten  that  here,  at  Passau,  the  treaty  was 
signed,  July  31,  1552,  between  the  PZmperor  Charles  V  and  Maurice,  Elector  of 
Saxony,  which  secured  freedom  to  the  Lutheran  Church.  Very  notable,  therefore, 
is  this  romantic  little  city  in  the  history  of  Germany,  and  so  of  mankind. 

But  here  I  must  not  forget  to  mention  that  those  who  do  not  care  for  the  sail 
on  the  Danube  may,  by  taking  a  slight  circuit,  include  in  their  journey  some  fine 
mountain  scenery,  with  a  lake  district  unequaled  in  the  Eastern  Alps.  A  railway, 
recently  opened  up  the  valley  of  the  Enns,  makes  this  magnificent  excursion  very 
easy.     The  valley   itself  is  pleasing,  though  somewhat  monotonous,   and  studded 

161 


FROM  VIENNA,  ON  THE  WA  V  TO  THE  RHINE. 

with  iron  works.  The  railway  is  carried  along  by  the  broad  rapid  stream,  and  one 
rocky  ravine  through  which  it  passes,  the  Gesause,  a  part  of  which  is  shown  in  the 
frontispiece  to  the  present  chapter,  is  exceedingly  grand.  But  it  is  at  Steinach, 
where  a  branch  line  diverges  from  the  Enns,  in  the  direction  of  the  Salzkammergut, 
that  the  chief  beauty  of  the  excursion  begins.  First  we  ascend  a  romantic  moun- 
tain pass,  with  many  curves  and  windings,  to  the  high  marshy  plain  from  which  the 
Traun  takes  its   rise.     At  the  little  watering  place   of  Aussee   the  salt  district  is 


AUSSEE. 


entered  ;  the  beryl  hue  of  the  stream,  with  the  dark  green  of  the  lakes  in  its  course, 
at  once  arrests  the  eye.  The  railroad  runs  through  a  grand  rocky  gorge  beside  the 
clear  foaming  torrent,  and  reaches  the  Lake  of  Hallstadt,  wild  and  gloomy,  "like 
Wastwater,"  one  of  my  traveling  companions  remarked  ;  although  the  mountains 
are  vaster,  and  the  precipices  more  tremendous  ;  the  lake  itself,  as  nearly  as  I 
could  judge,  being  of  about  the  same  extent.  The  traveler  ought  here  to  make 
some  little  stay  ;  at  any  rate,  sufficient  to  enable  him  to  explore  the  valley  of  the 
Gosau,  on  the  opposite  or  western  side  of  the  lake,  with  the  two  lovely  tarns  in  its 
upper  region,  and  its  glorious  views  of  the  Dachstein  range,  with  its  precipices  and 
glaciers,  while  the  valley  is  beautiful  with  meadows  and  shady  woods.  In  all  the 
162 


■lilil'l'ii' 


".|i'n"miMn:"i>ri"  ■"- 


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'^■^iM 


II-  i"i 


'f.m. 


|!f,1l';ft!|- 

ilfii'l'lll'iiiiiliii    'iiHi'ii'i 

mkL^:::,:/  km 


iiil'l'^ 


t/> 

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o 


FROM  VIENNA,  ON  THE  IFA  V  TO  THE  RHINE. 


Alps  there  is  hardly  anything  more  exquisite.  Rejoining  the  railroad  at  one  of  the 
stations  on  the  Hallstadt  lake,  we  descend  through  an  open  valley  by  the  rapid 
dark-green  river  to  Ischl,  already  a  famous  watering  place,  with  its  strong  salt  baths, 
hydropathic  establishments,  mud  and  sulphur  baths,  and  all  the  rest.  Surrounded 
as  it  is  by  grand  mountains,  it  is  very  beautiful  ;  but  the  exceeding  heat  does  not 
invite  a  lengthened  stay,  and  we  continue  our  course  down  the  valley  to  the  beauti- 
ful Traunsee,  which,  if  the  Lake  of  Hallstadt  might  be  called  the  Wastwater  of  the 
"Salt  District,"  might  yet  more  appropriately  be  termed  its  Windermere.  Only  we 
approach  it  by  the  south  and  more  beautiful  extremity  ;  the  view  we  here  give  is 
taken  from  the  little  town  of  Gmuntlen  at  the  north.  As  the  lake  is  reached,  the 
majestic  Traunstein  towers  grandly  before  us  on 
the  opposite  side,  and  is  well  seen  from  the 
railway,  which  runs  high  above  the  lake  on  a 
terraced  bank,  and  as  Gmunden  is  approached 
commands  a  lovely  prospect  of  richly  wooded 
hills,  into  which  the  grander  precipices  of  the 
mountain  seem  to  pass  away.  Beautiful  chateaux 
here  and  there  appear  among  the  woods,  and 
in  a  short  time  the  white  attractive  houses  of 
the  little  town  come  into  sicfht,  in  striking 
contrast  with  the  dark-green  waters  of  the  lake. 
The  station  is  more  than  a  mile  distant  from 
the  town  itself;  but  the  traveler  who  can 
possibly  spare  two  or  three  days  should  stay 
to  enjoy  some  at  least  of  the  many  excursions 
which  this  beautiful  neighborhood  affords,  even 
though  he  may  not  be  able  to  visit  the  remain- 
ing lakes  of  the  district.  Small  steamboats  ply 
upon  the  lake,  which  is  eight  or  nine  miles  in 
length  ;  and,  as  on  Ullswater,  the  gradual  open- 
ing up  of  its  successive  reaches  among  the  hills, 
till  the  southern  extremity  with  its  encircling 
mountains  is  reached,  is  peculiarl)-  fine. 

Gmunden,  like  Ischl,  is  rapidly  becoming  a  favorite  watering-place,  the  salt 
streams  brought  hither  from  the  heart  of  the  mountains  giving  to  both  unequaled 
advantages.  You  are  among  the  mountains,  and  have  all  the  benefit  of  sea-baths 
as  well.  The  facilities  of  access  by  the  new  railway  of  course  largely  swell  the 
crowd  of  visitors  ;  but  it  seems  as  though  the  English  had  hardly  yet  discovered 
this  beautiful  resort.  Until  quite  recently  the  only  means  of  easy  access  by  rail  to 
the  valley  was  by  a  most  curious  little  railway,  said  to  be  the  oldest  in  Europe, 
originally  constructed  for  the  salt  trafific.  This  ascends  the  Traun  from  the 
Lambach  Station  on  the  Vienna  and  Salzburg  railway.  It  is  a  single  line,  jolting 
and  slow;  its  terminus  is  at  Gmunden,  much  nearer  to  the  town  than  that  of  the 
new  railway,  and  on  its  course  up  the  Traun  it  passes  the  beautiful  Falls,  for  the 
sake  of  which  I  would  advise  the  traveler  to  change  to  this  line  and  so  to  jjursue 
his  journey  northward. 

The  "Traunfall"  is  a  miniature  Schaffhausen,  formeil  by  a  ridge  of  conglom- 

165 


ravine:    salzkammkkgut. 


FROM  VIENNA,  ON  THE  WAY  TO  THE  RHINE. 

erate  rock  that  extends  nearly  across  the  river,  the  water  dashing  over  its  summit  and 
gliding  between  its  clefts  in  a  very  picturesque  way.  At  the  time  of  my  visit,  the 
water  was  low,  and  much  of  the  effect  was  lost,  added  to  which  the  canal,  opened 
at  its  side  for  the  descent  of  the  salt-rafts,  had  absorbed  much  of  the  stream.  We 
believe,  however,  that  the  miller  close  by  is  ready  for  a  "consideration"  to  shut  up 
the  canal  sluices  and  to  send  the  whole  river  over  the  cataract.  The  canal  itself,  or 
rather  the  water-slide,  is  very  curious.  It  is  nearly  a  quarter  of  a  mile  in  length, 
partly  scooped  out  of  the  rock,  partly  supported  by  props  from  below,  and  forms  an 
inclined  plane  with  an  inclination  of  about  one  in  thirty,  down  which  the  barge 
glides  smoothly  and  swiftly  in  one  minute.     Any  adventurous  tourist,  disposed  to 


THE    WALHALLA,    NEAR    RATISliON. 


try  this  novel  conveyance,  may  be  accommodated  on  the  salt-rafts  from  Gmunden,  at 
the  charge  of  one  florin,  thus  enjoying  the  sensation  of  being  carried  on  the  swift 
smooth  stream  to  the  very  edge  of  the  cataract,  when  the  raft  is  deftly  turned  aside 
within  a  strong  barrier  of  logs  projecting  into  the  river,  and  the  rapid  plunge  is 
safely  made.  There  may  be  no  danger,  though  appearances  all  point  the  other 
w'ay  ! 

From  the  Traun  valley  we  join  the  main  route  to  Passau,  already  described. 
The  next  halting  place  was  Regensburg,  better  known  perhaps  as  Ratisbon,  where 
the  Regen,  a  stream  that  comes  down  from  the  Bohemian  Forest,  falls  into  the 
Danube.  The  cathedral  here  is  of  extraordinary  beauty  ;  the  well-proportioned 
stateliness  of  its  interior,  its  numerous  and  noble  monuments,  and  the  splendor  of  its 
stained  glass,  place  it  among  the  very  finest  of  the  ecclesiastical  buildings  of  Ger- 
many. It  was  for  some  centuries  left  unfinished,  but  of  late  its  completion  has  been 
zealously  taken  in  hand  by  the  Bavarian  government  and  people.     The  little  square 

i66 


i68 


RATISBON     CATHEDRAL. 


FROM  VIENNA,  ON  THE  WA  Y  TO  THE  RHINE. 

tower  on  the  north  side  of  the  building  is  named  the  Eselsthurm  or  "  Asses'  Tower"; 
having  been  put  up,  with  an  inclined  plane  in  the  interior,  for  the  convenience  of 
carrying  up  materials  for  the  higher  parts  of  the  building  on  the  backs  of  asses.  It 
was  meant  for  temporary  use,  but  like  the  old  crane  so  long  to  be  seen  upon  the 
Dom  at  Cologne,  has  been  left  as  a  sign  of  the  incompleteness  of  the  structure. 


NUREMBERG  :     ST.    LAWRENCE    CHURCH. 


Adjoining  is  the  original  cathedral,  a  building  of  unknown  date,  but  supposed  to  be 
the  most  ancient  existing  church  in  Germany. 

Some  other  buildings  in  the  ancient  sleepy  town  will  interest  the  determined 
sightseer;  but  the  main  point  of  the  halt  at  Ratisbon  is  to  visit  the  Walhalla,  or 
"  Hall  of  the  Chosen,"  erected  by  Ludwig  I,  King  of  Bavaria,  as  a  national  memorial 
to  the  greatest  men  of  Germany.  The  old  Teutonic  name  of  the  building  but  poorly 
corresponds  with  the  design,  which  is  purely  Grecian,  and  is  wrought  out  with 
immense  elaboration.     On  a  commanding  eminence  above  the    Danube,  some   six 

169 


FROM  VIENNA,  ON  THE   \VA  Y  TO  THE  RHINE. 


miles  down  the  river  from  Ratisbon,  and  immediately  above  the  little  village  of 
Donaustauf,  stands  a  building  of  light-gray  limestone,  at  a  distance  resembling  fine 
marble,  its  roof  supported  by  a  Doric  colonnade,  and  the  proportions  of  the  structure 
almost  precisely  those  of  the  Parthenon  at  Athens.'     One  path  to  it  lies  up  the 


NUREMBERG  :    THE    SCHONEBRUNNEN    AND    M ARIEN-KIRCHE. 


wooded  hill  ;  another,  on  the  side  nearest  the  river,  conducts  to  a  flight  of  two  hun- 
dred and  fifty  steps.  Above  these  is  a  vast  substructure  of  masonry,  arranged  in 
three  terraces,  altogether  one  hundred  feet  in  height,  and,  truth  to  say,  somewhat 
impairing  the  effect  of  the  building  itself,  which  looks  small  on  so  vast  a  foundation. 

'  The  relative  proportions  are  as  follows  : 

Parthenon.  Walhalla. 

Eng.  ft.  in.  Eng.  ft.  in. 

Length 225  lo^ 2i8  o 

Breadth        120  2 102  3 

Height  of  pediment  .     .        62  2 60  6 

Shaft  of  columns  ...       31  4/5 2g  4J 

170 


NUREMBERG,    WITH    ST.    SEBALD's    CHURCH    AND    THE    CASTLE. 


172 


FROM  VIENNA,  ON  THE   WA  V  TO  THE  RHINE. 

It  Stands  north  and  south  ;  and  on  the  two  pediments  are  marble  sculptures  repre- 
senting German  victories,  one  being  that  of  the  renowned  Arminius  over  the 
Romans.  In  the  interior,  where,  in  place  of  taking  off  the  shoes,  as  in  an  Eastern 
mosque,  you  are  requested  by  a  courteous  attendant  to  cover  them  with  a  pair  of  list 
slippers,  which  he  hands  you,  to  protect  the  polished  marble  floor,  you  are  at  first 
bewildered  by  the  variety  of  colors.  In  contrast  with  the  cold  and  classic  exterior, 
this  variety  of  tint  and  gilding  seems  barbaric  ;  and  the  white  busts,  for  the  reception 
of  which  the  building  was  planned,  appear  insignificant  amid  surroundings  of  so 
much  splendor.  But  after  a  while,  as  you  shuffle  about  in  your  ungainly  shoes,  and 
get  over  your  dread  of  falling  on  the  slippery  pavement,  you  begin  to  discern  the 
order  and  harmony  of  the  whole.  The  roof  is  colored  to  resemble  the  heavens  ; 
white  stars  beam  from  a  blue  ground,  and  the  panels  are  divided  by  rich  gilding. 
The  roof  is  supported  on  each  side  by  seven  Caryatides,  intended  to  represent  the 
JValkyrs  or  warrior  virgins  of  the  ancient  German  Paradise.  These  are  richly 
colored,  "their  hair  is  brown,  flesh  like  ivory,  bearskins  gilt,  tunics  violet,  upper 
drapery  white  with  gilt  and  red  edges."  A  frieze  of  white  marble  running  round 
the  building  represents  in  relief,  in  eight  sections,  the  chief  events  of  Germanic  his- 
tory down  to  the  introduction  of  Christianity.  Between  the  frieze  and  the  ceiling 
are  white  tablets,  bearing  in  golden  letters  the  names  of  the  "great  and  good"  of 
Teutonic  race,  of  whom  no  authentic  portrait  is  preserved.  Among  them  are  Alfred, 
Egbert,  Charlemagne,  Pepin,  and'even  Hengist  and  Horsa!  The  marble-lined  walls 
are  divided  by  buttresses  on  each  side  into  three  recesses,  and  in  every  recess  there 
stands  a  beautiful  marble  statue  of  Victory,  by  the  sculptor  Ranch.  The  busts  of  the 
worthies,  in  honor  of  whom  the  temple  is  raised,  are  placed  on  brackets  and  shelves 
around  ;  and  represent  somewhat  more  than  a  hundred  of  the  greatest  men  in  Ger- 
man history  ;  as,  of  rulers,  Frederick  Barbarossa  and  Rudolph  of  Hapsburg ;  of  war- 
riors, Wallenstein,  Frederick  the  Great,  and  Blucher;  of  philosophers,  Kant  and 
Lessing ;  of  poets,  Schiller  and  Goethe.  Men  of  science  are  represented,  among 
others,  by  Humboldt,  musicians  by  Mozart  ;  and  so  on  through  every  department  of 
human  thought  and  action,  as  King  Ludwig  might  judge  desert  to  lie.  Not  until 
after  that  king's  abdication  was  Martin  Luther  admitted  to  this  Temple  of  Fame  ! 
One  is  reminded  of  the  question  :  "  Shall  Cromwell  have  a  statue?"  In  truth  this 
Walhalla  seems  a  superb  mistake.  Its  effect,  for  some  reason  or  other,  is  singularly 
unimpressive.  The  reason  may  be,  that  the  roll  of  fame  is  not  for  any  one  man  or 
one  generation  to  write.  The  true  Walhalla  is  in  the  memory  of  a  people  and  in  the 
verdict  of  time.  And  as  to  the  outward  form  given  to  the  recognition  of  the  best 
and  greatest,  one  is  far  more  touched,  in  traveling  through  Germany,  by  the  bronze 
statues  that  adorn  so  many  a  public  place, — by  Luther  and  Melanchthon  side  by  side 
at  Wittenberg,  Goethe  and  Schiller  at  Weimar,  Gutenberg  at  Mayence  and  Frank- 
fort, Albert  Diirer  and  old  Hans  Sachs  at  Nuremberg,  and  many  more, — than  by  any 
such  forced  and  unnatural  memorial.  In  such  matters,  appropriateness  and  sim- 
plicity are  everything. 

From  Ratisbon  it  would  have  been  pleasant  to  pursue  the  upward  course  of  the 
great  river  to  Blenheim,  where  the  "famous  victory"  was  won  ;  and  to  Ulm  on  the 
frontier  of  Wiirtemberg,  whence  it  would  have  been  easy  to  visit  Stuttgart  and 
Carlsruhe.  But  as  a  choice  between  routes  was  imperative,  I  preferred  that  to 
Nuremberg,  where  I  spent  some  days  with  much  interest  and  delight.      No  town  in 

173 


FROM   VIENNA,  ON  THE  WA  Y  TO  THE  RHINE. 


Germany  retains  so  completely  the  characteristics  of  the  past.  The  sense  of 
strangeness,  instead  of  disappearing  or  diminishing  with  familiarity,  seems  only  to 
increase.  Everything  in  the  outward  aspect  of  the  place  is  medieeval.  The  tall 
houses,  with  every  variety  of  high  gable,  dormer  windows,  and  richly  decorated  pro- 
jections are  not  simply  here  and  there  to  be  seen,  as  in  other  places — quaint  survi- 
vals of  the  past  amid  architecture  of  modern  style — they  are  everywhere,  and  the 
modern  seems  the  unnatural  exception.  The  city  walls  and  towers,  with  the  great 
moat  or  ditch  surrounding  them,  remain  much  as  when  they  were  needed  for  defense, 
though,  indeed,  the  moat  is  for  the  most  part  dry,  and  occupied  by  vegetable  gar- 
dens.    The  bridges   over  the   little    river    that    divides    the  town,   some    of    them 

covered  by  buildings,  partake  in  the  antique  character 
of  the  place — the  very  shops,  devoted  to  modern  in- 
dustry and  the  wares  of  to-day,  seem,  in  their  narrow 
streets,  to  harmonize  with  the  grreat  buildings  of 
which  they  form  the  lower  portion  ;  and  I  fear  it 
must  be  added  that  the  odors  of  Nuremberg  are 
mediaeval  too.  If  the  city  above  ground  may  well 
be  left  undisturbed,  it  is  a  pity  that  something  can- 
not be  done  beneath  the  surface  in  harmony  with 
modern  requirements.  As  it  is,  the  stranger's  first 
impulse  is  to  turn  and  flee !  But  I  succeeded  in 
finding  good  quarters,  and  explored  the  old  city, 
after  all,  without  much  discomfort. 

The    most   interesting   point    is    the    castle,  on 
the  north  of  the  town,  where  the  city  ramparts  are 
strengthened  by  the  vast  natural  rock  of  sandstone 
on  which  they  stand,  and  which,  with  the  walls,  form 
a  defense  that  must  have  been  impregnable.      Here 
are    three   picturesque    and    massive   towers,  with   a 
curious  ancient  double  chapel  of  the  eleventh  cen- 
tury,   the    upper    part    being    for    the  lord  and    his 
family,  the  lower  for  his  domestics  and  retainers.     There  is  also  a  torture-chamber 
— truly  horrible  and  infernal  ;  the  "  Nuremberg  Virgin,"  with  her  interior  of  dag- 
ger blades,  being  here  exhibited  to  the  curious  in  such  matters. 

The  town  is  divided  into  two  parts  by  the  stream  mentioned  above,  the  slug- 
gish Pegnitz,  the  divisions  being  named,  after  the  large  and  truly  splendid  churches 
which  they  respectively  contain,  St.  Sebald  on  the  north  side,  St.  Lawrence  (Lorenz) 
on  the  south.  Each  church  has  two  towers,  nearly  equal,  yet  dissimilar  in  ornamen- 
tation ;  those  of  St.  Lawrence  contain  ranges  of  bars  designed  to  indicate  the  grid- 
iron on  which,  according  to  tradition,  the  saint  was  martyred.  The  west  front  of 
this  church,  with  its  sculptured  doorway  and  rose  window,  is  magnificent;  and  the 
great  "  Sacramentarium  "  in  the  interior — carefully  preserved,  though  now  the  build- 
ing is  dedicated  to  Protestant  uses — is  a  wonderfully  beautiful  piece  of  sculpture, 
tapering  upward,  and  at  the  summit  bending  like  the  stalk  from  which  the  flower 
has  been  broken.  The  sculptor  was  Adam  Krafft.  In  the  church  of  St.  Sebald  the 
most  conspicuous  object  is  the  saint's  shrine,  wrought  in  bronze  by  Peter  Vischer 
(a.  d.  1508-19),  and  fairly  to  be  regarded  as  the  masterpiece  of  that  description  of 
174 


NUREM&ERG 


(JOOSE  FOUNTAIN. 


NUREMBERG  :     ST.    SEBALD  S    TOMB. 


176 


FROM  VIENNA,  ON  THE  WAY  TO  THE  RHINE. 

art.  Its  detail  in  every  part  is  exquisite,  as  our  engraving  may  in  some  measure  indi- 
cate. The  statues  in  the  twelve  pillars  v\/hich  support  the  fretted  canopy  are  intended 
to  represent  the  apostles,  the  smaller  figures  by  which  the  columns  are  crowned  are 
the  chief  fathers  of  the  church  ;  while  the  bas-reliefs  in  the  arches  that  support  the 
sarcophagus  depict  the  alleged  miracles  of  St.  Sebald.  In  a  niche  of  the  monument 
below,  the  artist  has  introduced  a  statuette  of  himself,  with  his  workman's  apron  on 
and  a  chisel  in  his  hand.     The  monument  is  in  excellent  preservation  ;  the  spirit  of 


STATUE    OF    HANS    SACHS,    NUREMBERG. 


iconoclasm  which,  in  a  burst  of  righteous  indignation,  destroyed  so  many  works  of 
art  at  the  time  of  the  Reformation,  not  having  penetrated  to  Nuremburg.  In  fact 
this  city,  beyond  most  in  Germany,  accepted  the  Reformed  doctrine  quietly,  became 
Lutheran  calmly,  decisively,  and  without  a  blow,  and  has  so  remained,  although  not 
without  a  bitter  struggle,  at  the  time  of  the  Thirty  Years'  War,  when  Gustavus 
Adolphus  and  Wallenstein  met  here  in  a  well-matched  but  indecisive  struggle.  I 
may  mention  here,  as  illustrating  in  some  degree  the  tone  of  the  place,  that  Nurem- 
berg is  the  only  city  on  the  Continent  in  which  I  have  seen  the  shops  universally 
closed  on  Sunday,  as  in  any  country  town  of  England.  The  fact  I  give  for  what  it 
is  worth  ;  no  doubt  there  is  as  much  Sunday  dissipation  here  as  elsewhere,  and  yet 


177 


FROM  VIENNA,  ON  THE  WA  Y  TO  THE  RHINE 


the  fact,  together  with  the  well-filled  churches  in  the  morning  of  the  day,  indicates  a 
measure  of  religious  earnestness  from  which  much  may  yet  be  hoped. 

To  describe  the  many  rich  or  curious  monuments  which  the  streets  contain 
would  here  be  impossible.  The  Goose  Fountain  (Gansemannchen)  by  Labenwolff, 
a  pupil  of  Vischer,  is  quaint  and  elegant ;  but  the  Schonebrunnen  (Beautiful  Foun- 
tain), close  by  the  ancient  market-place  and  the  Roman   Catholic  church   (Frauen- 

kirche),  is  the  most  striking,  and  is  a  peculiarly 
graceful  structure,  in  the  style  with  which  we  in 
England  are  familiar  as  that  of  the  "  Eleanor 
Crosses."  Near  this,  an  inscription  on  an  old 
house  in  a  narrow  street  points  out  the  dwelling 
of  Hans  Sachs,  the  homely  poet  of  the  Reforma- 
tion, whose  statue  is  hard  by,  representing  him 
seated,  in  his  burgher's  dress,  with  countenance 
full  of  quiet  humor.  Close  at  hand  is  the  new 
Jewish  Synagogue,  a  truly  superb  building,  bear- 
ing on  its  front  the  inscription  in  Hebrew:  "How 
dreadful  is  this  place !  Surely  it  is  none  other 
than  the  House  of  God  and  the  gate  of  Heaven." 

Passing  again  to  the  north  of  the  city,  we 
come  upon  a  fine  bronze  statue  of  Albert  Diirer, 
the  pride  of  Nuremberg,  and  of  German  art. 
Hard  by  is  his  house  also,  just  beneath  the  castle. 
And  to  continue  the  catalogue  of  house  in- 
scriptions, it  may  be  added  that  in  this  quarter  of 
the  town,  nearly  opposite  St.  Sebald's  church,  a 
tablet  above  a  bookseller's  shop  records  that  there 
dwelt  Palm  the  publisher,  "a  victim  to  the  tyranny 
of  Napoleon."  He  was  shot,  the  reader  will 
remember,  in  1806,  for  publishing  a  pamphlet  on 
the  "  Degradation  of  Germany,"  in  which  he 
stigmatized  the  Emperor's  policy  as  oppressive. 

Almost  equal  in  interest  to  Albert  Durer's 
monument  is  his  lowly  grave  in  St.  John's  Ceme- 
tery, half  a  mile  beyond  the  city  gates.  The 
ancient  part  of  this  burying-place  is  filled  with 
tombs,  each  marked  by  its  flat  slab,  placed  in  close 
and  regular  order,  and  numbered.  Without  any 
difficulty  the  number  of  Durer's  grave,  649,  guided  me  to  the  spot.  The  tomb  is 
plain,  like  that  of  the  great  artist's  fellow  burghers,  and  bears  the  inscription,  "Qtiid- 
tjuid  Alberti  Dureri  mortale  fuit,  sub  hoc  cofiditur  tumulo.  Emigravit  8  idus 
Aprilis  1528."  The  monogram  is  underneath,  with  a  short  inscription  in  Latin 
and  German,  setting  forth  the  main  events  of  his  life.  But  the  word  Emigravit 
is  beautiful,  as  Longfellow  has  so  truly  remarked.  In  walking  round  the  cemetery 
I  was  greatly  struck  by  the  constancy  with  which  the  phrase  was  repeated,  Hier 
rtiht  in  Gott,  "  Here  rests  in  God."  No  words,  when  truly  applicable,  can  better 
consecrate  the  tomb  !  I  saw  a  funeral  there,  which  to  me  was  most  impressive.  It 
178 


iiHA'ifiiii  I ,. 

STATUE  IN  BRONZE  OF  ALBERT  DURER. 


l8o 


HOUSE    OF    NASSAU,    NUREMBERG. 


FROM  VIENNA,  ON  THE   WAV  TO  THE  RHINE. 


NU»REMBERG  :  ALBERT  DURER  S  HOUSE. 


was  evidently  that  of  a  person  belonging-  to  the  humbler  class,  but  was  largely 
followed.  Six  young  girls  walked  in  front,  bearing  large  bouquets  of  flowers 
with  sprigs  of  box  and  cypress;  there   followed   two  ministers  in  gown  and  cap; 

then  the  coffin  and  the  mourners.  As  soon  as 
the  grave  was  reached,  a  grand  chorale  was 
sung  by  men's  voices  ;  one  of  the  ministers 
then  read  a  brief  biography  of  the  deceased, 
followed  by  an  earnest  extempore  address 
which  seemed  deeply  to  move  his  auditors ; 
prayer  followed,  with  the  Lord's  Prayer  and 
benediction,  and  as  the  coffin  was  lowered 
into  the  grrave,  and  the  flowers  were  showered 
upon  it  in  profusion,  and  the  weeping  mourn- 
ers bent  over  it  in  their  last  look,  the  voices 
of  the  singers  rose  again  in  another  chorale, 
most  exquisitely  thrilling  ;  a  "  song  without 
words,"  so  far  as  I  was  concerned,  for  I  could 
not  distinguish  them  ;  but  to  me  and  to  the 
silent,  listening  company,  it  seemed  to  say, 
"/  am  the  Resur'rection  and  the  Life." 

Returning  to  the  city,  I  spent  some  time 
in  visiting  its  art  collections,  which  were 
quite  in  keeping  with  the  character  of  the 
place.  One,  consisting  entirely  of  very  early  German  and  Flemish  pictures,  is  in 
a  little  Gothic  chapel  close  by  St.  Sebald's  church.  Another  of  remarkable  interest, 
the  "  German  Museum,"  occupies  the  corridors  and  rooms  of  an  old  Carthusian 
monastery,  to  the  south  of  the  city,  and  illustrates  the  history  of  native  art,  with 
that  of  its  manufacture 
also  to  some  extent,  in 
a  very  complete  and  in- 
structive way.  Here  are 
two  works  of  Albert 
Diirer,  simple  portraits, 
one  of  the  Emperor  Max- 
imilian, the  other  of  the 
Burgomaster  Jerome 
Holzschuher,  both  of  ex- 
traordinary power.  The 
latter  especially  must 
surely  be  one  of  the  most 
vivid  and  expressive  like- 
nesses ever  painted.  In  another  part  of  the  nuiscuni  there  is  a  very  large  collection 
of  illuminated  and  other  MSS.,  and  of  early  printed  books,  in  splendid  preservation, 
with  wide  margins,  uncut  edges,  and  the  deep  black  of  the  fair  and  even  lines  un- 
impaired by  time.  Here,  too,  are  many  of  the  tracts  and  poems  of  Hans  Sachs, 
apparently  original  editions,  and  in  perfect  preservation.  These  weapons  of  a  holy 
war  were  more  impressive  to  look  upon  than   the  weapons  and  armor  that   filled 


CS^i-. 


NUREMBERG:     UURER  S    TOMB. 


FROM  VIENNA,  ON  THE  WA  Y  TO  THE  RHINE. 

Other  apartments  ;  while  an  instructive  contrast  was  to  be  found  in  the  torture  cham- 
ber which  this  museum  contains,  as  well  as  the  castle  before  visited,  and  which  is 
likewise  filled  with  things  most  hideous  and  fiendish  ! 

On  the  whole,  this  ancient  city  has  played  a  noble  part  in  the  work  of  civiliza- 
tion. Its  position  between  the  Danube  and  the  Rhine  made  it  for  several  genera- 
tions an  emporium  for  the  produce  both  of  east  and  west.  This  traffic  brought  to  it 
great  wealth,  and  in  the  fifteenth  and  sixteenth  centuries  the  great  merchants  of 
Nuremberg  were  princes.  Manufacture  and  invention,  also,  flourished  here.  Not 
to  mention  other  productions  of  Nuremberg  skill,  it  was  here  that  watches  were  first 
made,  about  the  year  1477  ;  called  from  their  shape,  "  Nuremberg  eggs."  The 
hearty  adoption  of  Protestantism,  with  its  liberal  and  progressive  ideas,  assisted  in 
sustaining  the  prosperity  of  the  city,  until  partly  through  the  opening  of  other  routes 
for  commerce,  but  chiefly  through  the  calamities  of  the  Thirty  Years'  War,  there 
ensued  a  period  of  decline.  Of  late,  however,  the  activity  and  success  of  the  Nurem- 
bergers  have  more  than  revived ;  their  city  is  now  known  as  the  "  toy-shop  of 
Europe  "  ;  and  the  suburbs  abound  in  large  and  prosperous  manufactories.  The 
railway-carriage  works  employ  nearly  four  thousand  men  ;  while  Nuremberg  seems 
the  European  center  for  stationary  of  every  kind,  for  wood-carvings,  and  for  fancy 
articles  generally.  It  is  stated  that  the  lead  pencils  manufactured  here  amount  to 
more  than  two  hundred  millions  annually  ! 


2'7;JS^V(nW.';,^ 


1^4 


IHE    WARTBURG  :     CASTLE    COURT. 


FRANKFURT. 


FRANKFURT,  AND  LUTHERS  COUNTRY. 


A  SHORT  and  pleasant  run  from  Nuremberg 
brought  me  into  the  fair  valley  of  the  Main, 
and  after"  a  halt,  only  too  brief,  at  Wurzburg,  a 
town  where  the  ancient  and  the  modern  seem 
singularly  to  mingle,  I  reached  the  world-famous 
city  of  Frankfurt. 

Here  also  the  visitor  is  continually  reminded  of 
the  state  of  things  that  has  passed  away.  From  the 
old  watchtowers,  which  show  the  jealously  guarded 
limits  of  the  ancient  "  Free  Imperial  City,"  it  is  but 
a  little  way  to  the  handsome  railway  stations  which 
now  open  communication  to  all  parts  of  the  Empire. 
As  in  Vienna,  the  vast  ancient  ramparts  have  been 
leveled,    and    the  "  Ring,"   here    called    "  Anlagen," 


beautifully  planted  and  adorned  with  sumptuous 
private  and  public  buildings,  gives  an  air  of  nobleness  to  the  city.  The  Cathedral 
tower,  St.  Bartholomew's,  is  fine  ;  but  beyond  this.  Frankfurt  has  few  architectural 
attractions.  Its  real  interest  is  in  its  history,  dating  from  the  days  of  Char  emagne 
who  selected  the  "Ford  of  the  Franks"  for  a  great  convocation  of  bishops  and 
nobles.     From  that  time  the  city  grew  in  importance,  until  it  was  fixed  upon  as  the 

185 


FRANKFURT,  AND  LUTHER'S  COUNTRY. 

place  of  the  imperial  election.  "  The  Golden  Bull "  of  the  Emperor  Charles  V, 
bestowing  this  privilege,  promulgated  from  Nuremberg,  dated  a.  d.  1356,  is  still 
carefully  preserved  in  the  Ronier,  or  City  Hall,  where  also  may  be  seen,  almost  in 
its  original  state,  the  Wahlzimmer,  or  Chamber  of  Election  ;  also  the  Kaisersaal, 
or  Imperial  Hall,  in  which  the  Emperor's  election  was  celebrated  by  a  solemn  ban- 
quet. Here  are  portraits  of  more  than  fifty  emperors  in  succession,  from  Conrad  I 
in  the  tenth  century  to  Francis  H  in  the  eighteenth,  with  the  mottoes  chosen  by  them 
at  their  inauguration — a  most  curious  and  interesting  study  !  One  of  my  com- 
panions tried  to  read  the  spirit  of  each  motto  in  the  imperial  countenance  which  sur- 
mounted it — I  cannot  say  with  any  remark3ble  success.  The  series  of  portraits 
terminates  with  Francis  H,  whose  forced  renunciation  of  the  imperial  crown  of  Ger- 
many for  that  of  Austria  closed,  in  1806,  the  history  of  a  thousand  years.'  Many 
vicissitudes  followed.  Frankfurt  was  eventually  recognized  at  the  Congress  of 
Vienna  as  a  free  city,  and  was  the  seat  of  the  Germanic  Diet,  until  after  the  war  of 
1866  it  was  absorbed  in  Prussia.  The  traditions  of  historic  greatness,  however, 
cling  to  it ;  and  one  is  reminded  at  every  step  that  Frankfurt  stands  alone  among 
the  cities  of  Germany. 

The  Autobiography  of  Goethe,  referring,  of  course,  to  a  period  when  the 
imperial  power  was  still  at  its  height,  shows  how  the  associations  of  the  city 
influenced  the  youthful  poet.^ 

"  Important,"  he  says,  "and  fruitful  for  us  was  the  Council  House,  named  from 
the  Romans.  In  its  lower  vault-like  halls  we  liked  but  too  well  to  lose  ourselves. 
We  obtained  an  entrance,  too,  into  the  large  and  very  simple  session-room  of  the 
Council.  The  walls  as  well  as  the  arched  ceiling  were  white,  though  wainscoted  to 
a  certain  height  ;  and  the  whole  was  without  a  trace  of  painting  or  any  kind  of  carved 
work  ;  only  high  up  on  the  middle  wall  might  be  read  this  brief  inscription ": 

One  man's  word  is  no  man's  word, 
Justice  needs  that  both  be  heard. 

"  But  whatever  related  to  the  election  and  coronation  of  the  emperors  possessed 
a  greater  charm.  We  managed  to  gain  the  favor  of  the  keepers,  so  as  to  be  allowed 
to  mount  the  new,  gay,  imperial  staircase,  which  was  painted  in  fresco,  and  on  other 
occasions  closed  with  a  grating.  The  election  chamber,  with  its  purple  hangings  and 
admirably  fringed  gold  borders,  filled  us  with  awe.  The  representations  of  animals, 
on  which  little  children  or  genii,  clothed  in  the  imperial  ornaments  and  laden  with 
the  insignia  of  the  Empire,  made  a  curious  figure,  were  observed  by  us  with  great 
attention  ;  and  we  even  hoped  that  we  might  live  to  see,  some  time  or  other,  a  coro- 
nation with  our  own  eyes.  They  had  great  difficulty  to  get  us  out  of  the  great 
Kaisersaal,  when  we  had  been  once  fortunate  enough  to  steal  in  ;  and  we  reckoneti 
him  our  truest  friend  who,  while  we  looked  at  the  half-lengths  of  all  the  emperors 
painted  round  at  a  certain  height,  would  tell  us  something  of  their  deeds. 

"  We  listened  to  many  a  legend  of  Charlemagne.  But  that  which  was  histori- 
cally interesting  for  us  began  with  Rudolph  of  Hapsburg,  who  by  his  courage  put 
an  end  to  such  violent  commotions.  Charles  IV  also  attracted  our  notice.  We  had 
already  heard  of  the  Golden  Bull,  and  of  the  statutes  for  the  administration  of  crimi- 

'  Charlemagne  was  crowned  Emperor  of  Germany,  A.  D.  800. 
'  Dichtung  U12J  ll'ah>h<it,  I,  i,  trans,  by  Oxenford. 

186 


FRANKFURT,  AND  LUTHER'S  COUNTRY. 


iV 


nal  justice.  We  knew,  too,  that  he  had  not  made  the  Frankfurters  suffer  for  their 
adhesion  to  his  noble  rival.  Emperor  Gunther  of  Schwartzburg.  We  heard  Maxi- 
milian praised,  both  as  a  friend  to  mankind  and  to  the  townsmen,  his  subjects,  and 
were  also  told  that  it  had  been  prophesied  of  him  he  would  be  the  last  emperor  of  a 
German  house,  which  unhappily  came  to  pass,  as  after  his  death  the  choice  wavered 
only  between  the  King  of  Spain  (afterward  Charles  V),  and  the  King  of  France, 
Francis  I.  With  some  anxiety  it  was  added  that  a  similar  prophecy,  or  rather,  inti- 
mation, was  once  more  in  circulation  ;  for  it  was  obvious  that  there  was  room  left  for 
the  portrait  of  only  one  more  emperor,  a 
circumstance  which,  though  seemingly  acci- 
dental, filled  the  patriotic  with  concern." 

Amid  such  scenes  was  the  poet's  child- 
hood passed.  "  Lovely  enough  shine  for 
us  those  years  in  old  Teutonic  Frankfurt  ; 
mirrored  in  the  far  remembrance  of  the 
self-historian  ;  real  yet  ideal,  they  are 
among  our  most  genuine  poetic  idyls.  No 
smallest  matter  is  too  small  for  us,  when 
we  think  7uho  it  was  that  did  it  or  suffered 
it.  The  little  long-clothed  urchin,  mercur- 
ial enough  with  all  his  stillness,  can  throw 
a  whole  cargo  of  new  marketed  crockery, 
piece  by  piece,  from  the  balcony  into  the 
street,  when  once  the  feat  is  suggested  to 
him  ;  and  comically  shatters  cheap  delft- 
ware  with  the  same  ritjht  hand  which  tra&i- 
cally  wrote  and  hurled  forth  the  demoniac 
scorn  of  Mephistopheles,  or,  as  'right  hand' 
of  Faust,  '  smote  the  universe  to  ruins.' 
Neither  smile  more  than  enough  (if  thou  be 
wise)  that  the  gray-haired,  all-experienced 
man  remembers  how  the  boy  walked  on 
the  Main  bridge,  and  'liked  to  look'  at  the 

bright  weathercock  on  the  barrier  there.  That  foolish  piece  of  gilt  wood  there,  glit- 
tering sunlit,  with  its  reflex  wavering  in  the  Main  waters,  is  awakening  quite  another 
glitter  in  the  young  gifted  soul  ;  is  not  this  foolish  sunlit  splendor  also,  now,  when 
there  is  an  eye  to  behold  it,  one  of  Nature's  doings?  The  eye  of  the  young  seer  is 
here,  through  the  paltriest  chink,  looking  into  the  infinite  splendors  of  Nature — 
where  one  day  himself  is  to  enter  and  dwell."  ' 

Goethe's  house,  like  Shakspere's  at  Stratford-upon-Avon,  is  carefully  preserved  ; 
and  throws  much  pleasant  side-light  on  the  autobiography.  The  inscription  on  the 
front  reads  thus  :  Johaiin  Wolfgang  Goethe  was  born  in  this  house  28th  August,  174<). 
It  should  be  visited  even  by  those  who  assign  to  this  great  poet  a  place  distinctly  be- 
low the  highest,  and  who  mourn  over  the  inadequacy  of  the  solution  which  the  most 
consummate  of  literary  artists  has  offered  to  the  great  problems  of  human  existence.' 

'  Carlyle,  Miscellaneous  Essays.  Goethe's  Works. 

'  There  is  not  in  all  literature  a  more  disappointing,  and  indeed  humiliating  "  Sequel,"  than  the  Second  Part  of  "  Faust." 

187 


FKANKFURT  :    GOEIHKS    KIRTHPLACE. 


FRANKFURT,  AND  LUTHER'S  COUNTRY. 


As  every  one  knows,  the  greater  part  of  the  poet's  Hfe — no  less  than  fifty -six 
years — was  passed  at  Weimar,  where  a  very  noble  bronze  group,  by  Rietschel,  rep- 
resents Goethe  and  Schiller  side  by  side.  Hardly  any  monument  in  Germany  is 
more  poetic.  In  looking  at  it  one  is  reminded  of  some  sentences  by  the  late  G.  H. 
Lewes  :  "  There  are  few  nobler  spectacles  than  the  friendship  of  two  great  men  ;  and 
the  history  of  literature  presents  nothing  comparable  to  the  friendship  of  Goethe 
and  Schiller.  Rivals  they  were,  and  are ;  natures  in  many  respects  directly  antago- 
nistic, chiefs  of  opposing  camps,  and 
brought  into  brotherly  union  only  by 
what  was  highest  in  their  characters 
and  aims.  To  look  on  these  great 
rivals  was  to  see  at  once  their  profound 
dissimilarity.  Goethe's  beautiful  head 
had  the  calm  victorious  grandeur  of 
the  Greek  ideal.  Schiller's,  the  earnest 
beauty  of  a  Christian  looking  toward 
the  future.  The  massive  brow  and 
large-pupiled  eyes — like  those  given  by 
Raphael  to  the  infant  Christ  in  the 
matchless  Madonna  di  San  Sisto — the 
strong  and  well-proportioned  features, 
lined  indeed  by  thought  and  suffering, 
yet  showing  that  thought  and  suffering 
have  troubled,  but  not  vanquished  the 
strong  man, — a  certain  healthy  vigor 
in  the  brown  skin,  and  an  indescribable 
something  which  shines  out  from  the 
face,  make  Goethe  a  striking  contrast 
to  Schiller,  with  his  eager  eyes,  narrow 
brow — tense  and  intense — his  irregular 
features  lined  by  thought  and  suffering, 
and  weakened  by  sickness.  The  one 
looks,  the  other  looks  out.  Both  are 
majestic,  but  one  has  the  majesty  of 
repose,  the  other  of  conflict."  ' 
From  the  house  of  Goethe,  in  the  Hirschgraben,  it  is  but  a  little  way  to  the  Dom 
Platz,  where  a  yet  greater  man,  and  one  who  has  left  beyond  all  others  the  impress 
of  his  personality  on  the  German  mind,  had  his  residence  for  a  time.  For  here,  on 
one  visit,  at  least,  was  the  home  of  Luther.  The  house  is  now  marked  by  his  por- 
trait, and  the  inscription:  Iji  quichiess  and  in  confidence  shall  be  your  strcngtli.''  It 
will  be  remembered  that  the  selfsame  words  are  taken  as  the  motto  of  Keble's 
Christian  Year. 

But  the  words  were  hardly  prophetic.  The  "  Troubles  at  Frankfurt,"  connected 
with  the  rise  of  the  evangelical  community  in  the  city,  have  become  historical.  In 
1554  John   Knox  accepted  an  invitation  to  Frankfurt  from  a  band  of  English  Prot- 

'  G.  H.  Lewes,  Life  of  Goetlie,  Book  vi,  chap.  i.    The  whole  criticism,  of  which  this  is  but  a  fragment,  is  well  worth  reading. 
'  Isaiah  xxx,  15. 
188 


STATUES  OF  GOETHE  AND  SCHILLER  AT  WEIMAR. 


FRANKFURT,  AND  LUTHER'S  COUNTRY. 


estant  exiles  who  had  settled  in  this  city.  "That  settlement  and  that  ministry  were 
pregnant  with  consequences  to  the  religious  life  of  the  English  nation,  of  which  we 
have  not  seen  the  end.  It  was  at  Frankfurt,  under  the  ministry  of  John  Knox,  that 
Puritanism  took  its  rise — that  Puritanism  which  was  in  aftertime  to  found  the  great 
Republic  of  the  West,  and  to  raise  up  champions  all  the  world  over  for  freedom  to 
worship  God."  '  Of  this  notable  con- 
gregation, John  Fox  the  martyrologist 
was  a  member,  with  Bishop  Bale,  George 
Whitehead,  Anthony  Gilby,  and  Chris- 
topher Goodman,  all  afterward  of  high 
rank  among  the  Puritans.  Butw^hen  Dr. 
Cox,  who  had  been  tutor  to  Edward  VI, 
arrived  among  them,  a  controversy  be- 
gan respecting  the  use  of  the  Liturgy  ; 
which  was  ended  only  by  the  expulsion 
of  Knox,  on  the  extraordinary  charge  of 
treason  against  the  Emperor ;  the  great 
Scottish  reformer  retiring  for  a  while  to 
Geneva,  where  he  was  cordially  welcomed 
by  Calvin.  The  controversy  was  to  be 
regretted,  whatever  view  may  be  taken 
of  the  principal  matters  involved :  and 
assuredly  nothing  did  so  much  to  hinder 
the  progress  of  the  Reformation  as  these 
contentions  on  secondary  matters  be- 
tween those  who  had  learned  to  make  a 
principle  of  everything,  and  could  not  un- 
derstand concession. 

Frankfurt  has  also  a  noble  monu- 
ment to  Gutenburg  and  his  compeers. 
Fust  and  Schoeffer,  who  stand  together  in 
a  colossal  group  of  bronze,  upon  a  massive 
stone  pedestal.  On  the  frieze  below  the 
group  are  the  heads  of  thirteen  famous 
printers,  including  our  own  Caxton.  In  the  lower  part  of  the  pedestal  are  iht!  arms 
of  the  four  cities  in  which  printing  was  first  practiced,  Mayence,  Frankfurt,  Venice, 
and  Strassburg.  The  seated  figures  at  the  corners  are  intended  to  represent  The- 
ology, Poetry,  Natural  Science,  and  Industrial  Art  as  the  printer's  fourfold 
province — a  somewhat  imperfect  enumeration  !  The  four  drinking  fountains  are 
intended  to  point  to  the  four  quarters  of  the  globe,  and  the  universal  influence  of 
the  press. 

Passing  by  the  monuments  to  Goethe  and  Schiller,  which  are  also  very  striking, 
especially  the  former,  the  visitor,  however  hurried,  should  find  time  to  see  Dan- 
necker's  celebrated  statue  of  Ariadne  on  a  panther,  placed  in  a  building  called  after 
this  masterpiece  of  art,  the  Ariadneum  ;  nor  should  he  omit  the  Stiidel  Gallery  of 
modern  pictures,  if  only  for  Overbeck's  grand  painting  of  The  Triumph  of  Religion 

'  Sunday  at  Home,  November  10,  1877. 

iSq 


FRANKFURT  :     LUTHER  S    HOUSE. 


FRANKFURT,  AND  LUTHER'S  COUNTRY. 


in  the  Arts,  the  interest  of  which  is  due  not  only  to  its  quasi-allegorical  conception, 
but  to  the  immense  number  of  portraits  of  eminent  authors,  artists,  and  theologians. 
A  key  to  the  picture  will  be  found  in  the  room;  and  certainly  the  painter  has  suc- 
ceeded in  very  vividly  illustrating  the  harmony  of  a  true  religion  with  every  form  of 
intellectual  greatness. 

Few  who  visit  Frankfurt  omit  to  pay  a  visit  to  the  Jews'  quarter.  This,  as  in 
Prague,  Vienna,  and  other  German  cities,  was  long  maintained  apart  from  the  rest  of 
the  city,  almost  as  a  separate  colony,  characterized  by  gloom,  closeness,  and  squalor, 
not  altogether  from  poverty, — as  here  the  Rothschild  family  was  founded,  with 
other  houses  of  wealth  and  note, — but  from  the  long  proscription  of  the  hated  and 

outcast  race.  Up  to  the  end  of  the  last  cen- 
tury no  Jew  was  permitted  to  cross  the  Rom- 
erburg  ;  and  the  gates  of  the  Jews'  quarter 
were  closed  every  evening  at  an  early  hour, 
after  which  its  inhabitants  were  forbidden, 
under  heavy  penalties,  to  appear  in  any  other 
part  of  the  city.  Happily  this  exclusiveness 
is  now  at  an  end,  and  the  Jew  mingles  on 
equal  terms  with  his  fellow-citizens. 

Two  excursions  from  Frankfurt  will  long 
live  in  my  remembrance.  One  was  to  the 
Taunus  Mountains — to  Soden  and  to  Wies- 
baden. The  latter  resort  is  well  known  ;  the 
former  also  is  very  charming.  But  let  no 
one  connect  with  this  "  mountain "  district 
any  thoughts  of  Alpine  majesty.  We  in 
England  should  simply  describe  it  as  a 
beautiful  undulating  country,  with  charming 
varieties  of  hill  and  dale.  It  is  mountain- 
ous, no  doubt,  in  contrast  with  the  vast  monotonous  levels  which  form  the  staple 
of  German  scenery  ;  but  in  comparison  with  Switzerland  or  the  Tyrol,  it  is 
itself  but  a  level  country.  And  yet  its  attraction  is  great ;  and  where,  as  at  Wies- 
baden, art  has  done  its  utmost  to  enhance  the  charms  of  nature,  the  result  is  alto- 
gether beautiful.  But,  pleasant  as  were  the  days  spent  in  this  district,  they  had  to  yield 
in  interest  to  a  visit  paid  to  Spires,  or,  as  the  Germans  have  it,  Speyer,  on  the  Rhine, 
a  short  distance  above  Mannheim.  It  is  true  that  the  little  sleepy  town  retains  but 
few  memorials  of  its  former  renown,  or  of  the  contest  which  once  raged  around  its 
walls.  The  cathedral,  indeed,  remains,  magnificent  after  all  the  assaults  and  devasta- 
tions of  which  it  has  been  the  subject.  It  is,  perhaps,  the  very  finest  specimen  of 
Romanesque  architecture  in  existence.  But  not  for  this,  chiefly,  is  Spires  famous. 
More  suggestive  to  the  thoughtful  visitor,  even  than  this  stately  temple,  is  a  certain 
moldering  wall,  which  is  all  that  remains  of  the  ancient  Retscher,  an  imperial  palace 
where  many  Diets  were  held,  from  one  of  which,  in  1529,  a  Protest  was  issued 
against  the  decree  of  the  majority.  This  assertion  of  religious  liberty  has  given  to 
the  Church  the  appellation  "  Protestant";  by  which,  it  may  be  supposed,  the  princi- 
ples of  Scriptural  belief  will  be  known  until  the  world  shall  understand  that  these 
principles  are  really  "  Catholic,"  as  expressive  of  that  harmony  in  faith  wh'ch  makes 
190 


rUANKFURT  ;  STATUE  OK  GUTENBERG. 


FRANKFURT,  AND  LUTHER'S  COUNTRY. 

all  Christians  one.  It  is  not  good  to  rest  in  negatives  ;  and  the  word  which  Spejer 
has  given  us  is  valuable  only  as  expressing  the  sterner  aspect  of  that  positive  belief 
which  we  have  learned  from  the  Word  of  God.      Against  the  error  we  "  protest," 


I-R  ANKKURT  :     JEWS      QUARTER. 


because  we  believe  that  we  have  found  the   Truih,  in  1  liin  who  is  "  the  \\'ay,  and  the 
Truth,  and  the  Life." 

One  excursion  only  remains  now  to  be  briefly  recorded,  a  much  shorter  and  more 
leisurely  one  than  those  previously  taken,  but  of  interest  not  inferior  to  any,  as  it  led  me 
through  what  is  pre-eminently  the  Land  of  Luther.  We  have  seen  already  that  all 
Germany  bears  the  impress  of  his  great  character;  and  I  had  visited  one  and  another 
spot  connected  more  or  less  directly  witli  the  incidents  of  his  life  ;  but  it  is  when  we 
reach  the  Thuringian  Forest,  Eisenach,  Erfurt  and  its  enchanting  neighborhood,  that 
we  are  at  every  step   reminded  of  him.      Almost  every  scene  illustrates  his  biogra- 

191 


FRANKFURT,  AND  LUTHER'S  COUNTRY. 

phy  ;  while  his  name  lives  in  a  thousand  affectionate  memories  and  popular  tradi- 
tions. The  ground  has  been  so  full)-  traversed  by  Dr.  Stoughton  in  his  Homes  aiid 
Haunts  of  Luther  that  much  may  be  omitted  here  which  would  but  repeat  the  vivid 
descriptions  of  that  charming  work.      I    need  but  give  a  few  general  impressions  of 


SPEYER  :     THE    CATHEDRAL. 


the  tour,  connected  as  it  was  with  other  names  which  have  a  place  in  various  ways 
in  the  annals  of  the  people.  No  part  of  the  Fatherland  is  in  truth  more  distinctly 
German  ;  the  villagers,  especially  in  dress  and  nianner,  retaining  the  quaintness  and 
simplicity  of  bygone  generations. 

The  route  lies  northward  from  Frankfurt,  at  first  by  rail,  through  a  pleasant 
open  country  bounded  by  low  hills,  until  at  length  a  woodland  region  is  entered, 
every  slope  being  densely  covered  with  trees,  and  we  are  on  the  northwestern  edge 
of  the  great   Thuringian  I'^orest.      Some   days  might  well  be  spent   in  exploring  the 

ig2 


194 


LUTHER    IN    THE    WaRTBURG    CELL. 


FRANKFURT,  AND  LUTHER'S  COUNTRY. 

lovely  valleys  which  here  open  up  on  all  sides  ;  the  undulating  country  sometimes 
resembliny  an  immense  park,  while  in  other  directions  we  reach  wild  romantic  val- 
leys, pine-clad  hills,  and  beetling-  cliffs,  with  castles  ami  old  ruins.  The  district  con- 
tains many  little  towns  and  villages,  at  most  of  which  the  traveler  may  find  homely, 
comfortable  accommodation,  always  with  a  smiling  Avelcome.  Good  roads  traverse 
the  forest  in  all  directions  ;  but  liere,  as  elsewhere,  the  by-paths  give  access  to  the 
fairest  scenes,  and  the  pedestrian  who  is  not  ambitious  to  scale  Alpine  heights,  or  to 


WILIIKI.MSHOHE. 


"cover"  fatiguing  distances,  can   scarcely  find  a  better  place  for  a  week's  leisurely, 
delightful  wandering  than  through  the  woods  and  by  the  streams  of   Thuringia. 

Our  halting  place  was  at  Eisenach,  a  (juiet,  pretty  town,  in  approaching  which 
the  Castle  of  the  Wartburg,  among  the  woods  on  a  hill  to  the  right,  was  pointed  out 
by  some  of  our  fellow-passengers.  From  the  station  to  the  castle  was  but  a  short 
walk  to  the  place  so  memorable  in  Luther's  histor)'.  But  I  must  not  repeat  the  oft- 
told  story;  saying  only  that  the  castle,  in  extent  and  interest,  surpassed  all  expecta- 
tion. Nor  ditl  the  extensive  restoration  to  which  it  has  been  subjected  destroy  the 
charm.  A  reverent  spirit  and  fine  artistic  taste  seem  to  have  directed  the  whole  pro- 
cess ;  the  ancient  and  the  modern  are  intermingled  with  a  rare  judiciousness  ;  and  of 
course  Luther's  chamber  remains  unaltered,  with  his  table,"  chair,  footstool,  and  chest  ; 

'  As  Dr.  Stoughton  observes,  "  The  table  at  which  I.uther  wrote  has  been  carried  away  in  chips,  but  in  its  place  is  found 
another,  at  which  we  are  told  he  sat  as  a  boy  in  his  father's  house." 

'95 


FRANKFURT,  AND  LUTHER'S  COUNTRY. 

portraits  also  and  an  autograph  letter,  with  other  relics;  and  on  the  plaster  of  the 
wall  a  stain  to  show  where  he  flung  his  inkstand  at  the  Evil  One.  There  has  been 
much  needless  discussion  as  to  the  literal  reality  of  this  incident.  Fact  or  no,  it  is 
equally  a  truth  ;  for  what  else  was  the  work  to  which  Luther  devoted  the  best  hours 
of  his  sojourn  in  this  little  room — the  translation  of  the  New  Testament  into  the 
tongue  of  the  people? 

After  this  memorable  visit,  there  was  little  to  detain  us  in   Eisenach   itself — a 


ON    1  HE    HARZ    MOUNTAINS  :     WINTER. 


clean,  quiet  German  town  in  the  midst  of  sheltering  hills,  and  a  tempting  center  for 
excursions  into  the  nearer  glens  of  the  Thuringian  Forest.  But  my  way  lay  onward 
to  Gotha  and  Erfurt,  conveniently  reached  by  railway  from  Eisenach.  Both  are 
ancient  towns,  and  Erfurt,  apart  from  its  connection  with  Luther,  has  many  points  of 
remarkable  interest  in  its  broad  streets  and  quaint  old  houses  with  richly  carved 
fronts.  Here  was  the  Augustinian  monastery,  where  the  Thuringian  miner's  son 
spent  his  years  of  study,  where  he  first  studied  the  Scriptures,  and  where  he  learned 
from  his  friend  Staupitz  the  great  truth  of  justification  through  faith  alone.  The 
monastery  exists  no  longer.      Luther's  cell  has  also  gone,  or  cannot  be   identified  in 

iq6 


FRANKFURT,  AND  LUTHER'S  COUNTRY. 


what  remains  of  the  old  building;  but  it  is  impossible  to  walk  the  streets  or  to  enter 
the  churches  in  which  he  must  have  bowed  during  many  an  hour  of  silent  struggle, 
without  thinking  of  him,  and  of  the  long  mental  conflict  which  here  was  silently 
wrought  out  to  a  victory  whose  fruits  are  seen  wherever  the  modern  world  rejoices 
in  truth,  freedom,  and  progress. 

A  short  expedition  to  Weimar  was  chiefly  noticeable  for  the  more  modern  asso- 
ciations of  what  was  once  called  the  German  Athens.  Here  is  that  remarkable  twin 
statue  of  Goethe  and  Schiller  to  which  reference  is  made  in  the  preceding  chapter. 
Here  too  lived  Wieland  and  Herder,  with  other  men  of  only  inferior  fame,  who 
shared  the  munificent  and  discriminating  patronage  of  the  Grand  Duke  Karl  August. 
The  memorials  of  this  bygone  period  of  literary  greatness  are  found  everywhere  in 
the  city,  in  the  Ducal  Schbss,  the  Public  Library,  and  the  open  squares  and  Places. 
Schiller's    house    too    i^  exhibited,   with   some   interesting    memorials   of    the    poet. 


iS 


'  BB-iK? 


^/l^S^ 


')S!^-/" 


yip-'TP 


iMAGDEDURG 


IIIK    liREITEWEG. 


There  are  also  in  the  library  a  black  frock  worn  by  Luther  when  a  friar,  the  belt  of 
Gustavus  Adolphus  pierced  with  the  fatal  bullet  at  Liitzen,  and  the  court  uniform 
of  Goethe.  Altogether,  the  lover  of  such  curiosities  may  spend  some  pleasant  hours 
at  Weimar  ;  while  the  park  on  the  banks  of  the  Ilm,  the  little  river  that  winds  pleas- 
antly past  the  western  suburb,  is  really  exquisite  in  its  beauty. 

Returning  from  Weimar  to  Erfurt,  we  took  the  rail  for  Nordhausen,  for  a  hur- 
ried visit  to  the  Harz  Mountains.  The  town  itself  is  a  busy,  thriving  place  ;  but 
there  was  time  only  to  visit  the  church  of  St.  l)lasius,  wlicrc  in  a  [)icture  by  Cranach 
of  the  Funeral  at  Nain  Luther  and  Melanchthon  are  introduced  among  the  mourners  ! 
Hence  many  routes  lead  to  the  Harz  district,  among  which  the  traveler  will  choo.se, 
according  to  the  time  he  has  to  spend  in  this  part  of  the  country.  I  preferred  to 
alight  at  the  romantic  roadside  station  of  Lllrich,  thence  proceeding  up  the  valley  of 
the  Zoree,  and  onwaril  over  a  wild  moorland  to  Braunhii'e,  whence  the  ascent  of 
the  famed  Brocken,  by  way  of  Elend  and  Schierke,  was  easy  enough  though  tedious. 
On  the  whole  the  Harz  Mountains  are  a  little  disappointing.  They  owe  their  repu- 
tation in  great  measure  to  the  fact  of  their  being  the  only  elevations  worth  speaking 
of  over  a  \'ast   plain,  from  which  the   range;  rises  on  all  sides  almost   abruptly.      1  he 

197 


FRANKFURT,  AND  LUTHER'S  COUNTRY. 

highest  point,  the  summit  of  the  Brocken,  is  but  three  thousand  four  hundred  and 
seventeen  feet  above  the  sea  level.     Certainly,  within  the  area  of  the  district,  fifty-six 

miles  by  eighteen,  many  of  the  most  remarkable  moun- 
tain phenomena  may  be  seen.  There  are  miniature 
torrents,  small  but  dark  pine  forests,  deep  ravines 
among  granite  rocks,  and  wild  stretches  of  morass  and 
moor.  To  the  inhabitants  of  the  surrounding  plain, 
these  highlands  and  dells  became  a  region  of  mystery% 
especially  as  the  mineral  treasures  of  the  district  led  to 
the  excavation  of  many  a  mine  in  its  recesses  ;  and  the 
stalactite  caverns,  occasionally  broken  open  by  the 
miners,  disclosed  their  marvels.  Here,  too,  gathered 
the  mists  and  storms  driven  from  the  sea,  and  the 
snows  of  winter  lay  deep  and  long  among  the  hills.  It 
was  the  Wonderland  of  that  great  monotonous  plain. 
Imagination  peopled  it  with  elves,  fairies,  witches, 
dwarfs  keeping  watch  over  untold  treasures  under- 
ground. The  well-known  Specter  of  the  Brocken  had 
not  yet  been  scientifically  explained  according  to  the 
laws  of  optics,  and  the  apparition  which  is  now  an 
occasional  curiosity  that  tourists  go  to  see  and  wait  for,  generally  in  vain,  was 
something  supernatural  and  dread.  So  a  whole  literature  of  wild,  weird  stories 
grew    up    around    the    Harz    Mountains — legends  narrated  fearfully  by  dwellers  in 


MAGDEBURG  :    OUR  LADY  S 
CLOISTER. 


MAGDEBURG  :     THE    CATHEDRAL. 


the  plain,  while  winter  tempests  howled  distantly  above.  Nor  was  historical  in- 
terest wanting.  Here,  according  to  tradition,  were  the  fastnesses  of  the  Cherusci, 
most  powerful  of  the  German  tribes,  and  of  their  chieftain,  the  mighty  Hermann, 
or  Arminius,  who  successfully  defied  the  Roman  legions^  and  secured  the  inde- 
pendence  of  Germany  beyond  the  Rhine.     We  can  hardly  wonder  then  that  the 

iqS 


FRANKFURT,  AND  LUTHER'S  COUNTRY 


MAGDEBURG  :    CATHEDRAL 
PULPIT. 


region  has  become  invested  with  associations  of  marvel  and  poetry  which  a  visit  on 

a  bright  summer's  day  is  apt  to  reduce  to  a  level  of  very  ordinary  prose.      Still,  if  the 

expectation  has  not  been  very  highly  raised,  a  few  days 

may  be   spent   pleasantly  enough   in   exploring  the  deep 

glens,  which  after  all  are  the  chief  beauty  of  the  district, 

or  in  visiting  the  mines,  especially  in  the  Rammelsberg, 

near    Goslar,    a    mountain    actually    honeycombed    with 

shafts  and  galleries.     The  process  of  extracting  the  ore 

is  very  curious,  immense  fires  of  brushwood  and  timber 

being  lighted  in  the  part  to  be  excavated,  which  is  then 

closed.     This  being  done  before  leavingf  work  on  Satur- 

day,  the  fires  blaze  fiercely  all  through  Sunday,  then  die 

out,  leaving  the  rock  friable  and  ready  for  the  Monday's 

workers. 

By  another  route,   Nordhausen   communicates  with 

Cassel,  the    old    capital    of    Hesse-Cassel,   picturesquely 

situated    on    both    sides    of   the    river    Fulda,   a    sleepy, 

antique-looking  place  with  brand-new  suburbs.      Here  the 

traveler  not  pressed  for  time  may  visit  the  museum  and 

the    picture    gallery  with    its,  perhaps  unequaled,    Rem- 
brandt  collection.      But   he  will   probably  elect  to   make 

his  way  to  Wilhelmshohe,  the   old  Electoral  residence, 

with  its  grounds,  avenues,  and   fountains,  the  Versailles 

or  Schonbrunn  of  Northern  Germany;  doubly  memorable 

now  from  its  connection  with  the  fall  of  the  French  em- 
pire.     It  was  here  that  Napoleon  the  Third  spent  the  weary  months  that  followed 

the  catastrophe  of  Sedan  in  1870;  and  here  his  abdication  was  completed.  Singu- 
larly enough,  the  place  was  once,  for  a 
short  time,  known  as  "  Napoleonshohe," 
when  occupied  by  Jerome  Bonaparte, 
King  of  Westphalia ;  and  it  is  from  its 
Napoleonic  associations  of  a  different 
kind  that  it  will  be  best  remembered. 

But  now  my  time  had  become  very 
limited,  and  before  returning  I  was 
anxious  to  reach  Magdeburg,  just  for  a 
flying  visit,  if  only  for  its  connection  with 
the  Reformation  and  with  Luther.  It 
was  in  Magdeburg  that  he  went  to  school, 
and  in  the  streets  of  this  city  that  he 
was  accustomed  to  sing,  receiving  the 
Ijounty  of  the  inhabitants  in  that  very 
box,  perhaps,  which  is  kept  with  such 
religious  care  in  the  little  room  at  the 
Wartburg.  The  inhabitants  espoused  the 
cause  of  the  Reformation  so  early  as 
1  524,  and  remained  steadfast  to  it,  through 

199 


MAGDEBURG  :     INTERIOR    OE    CATHEDRAL. 


FRANKFURT,  AND  LUTHER'S  COUNTRY. 


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A*.'  H 


many  calamities,  for  more  than  a  century.  It  was  a  Magdeburg  divine,  Matthew 
Flacius,  who  initiated  the  most  valuable  series  of  books  in  existence  for  the  elucida- 
tion of  ecclesiastical  history,  the  "  Magdeburg  Cen- 
turies," containing,  in  thirteen  portly  folios,  the  chief 
material  for  illustrating  the  Church's  creed  and  life 
from  primitive  ages  down  to  the  then  modern  era. 
The  publication  of  the  book  was  begun  in  1560;  it 
was  completed  in  1564.  Those  were  quiet,  studious 
times,  in  comparison  with  the  days  that  followed!  In 
science,  also,  this  city  became  famous.  But  in  the 
early  part  of  the  succeeding  century,  all  such  pur- 
suits were  rudely  and  cruelly  interrupted.  Nowhere 
did  the  Thirty  Years'  War  bring  deeper  and  sadder 
calamities  than  to  this  now  Protestant  and  flourish- 
ing city.  Very  pathetically,  in  the  great  Luther 
Monument  at  Worms,  is  Magdeburg  represented  as 
bowed  and  shrouded  in  sadness  ;  for  after  having 
successfully  borne  the  brunt  of  one  siege,  it  yielded — 
through  treachery,  as  it  was  believed — to  the  relent- 
less Tilly  in  1631,  and  was  utterly  destroyed,  with 
the  exception  of  one  hundred  and  thirty-nine  houses; 
thirty  thousand  inhabitants  being  "  massacred  by 
the  imperial  soldiery,  without  distinction  of  age  or 
sex,  and  with  such  accomp^animents  of  brutality  that 
the  name  of  the  commander  who  permitted  it  was 
never  afterward  mentioned  without  a  malediction. 
In  the  dispatch  in  which  Tilly  announced  the  cap- 
ture, he  says,  '  Since  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem 
and  Troy  such  a  victory  has  not  been.'"  Otto  von 
Guericke,  the  inventerof  the  air-pump,  and  the  origi- 
nator of  the  Tamous  "  Magdeburg  experiment,"  illus- 
trating the  pressure  of  the  atmosphere  by  two  tightly 
fitting  brass  hemispheres  from  which  the  interior 
air  was  exhausted,  was  at  this  time  burgomaster  of 
the  city. 

At  present,  Magdeburg,  as  the  capital  of  Prus- 
sian Saxony,  and  from  its  port  on  the  Elbe,  ranks  as 
one  of  the  most  important  cities  in  Germany.  There 
is  much  in  it,  apart  from  its  historical  associations, 
to  interest  the  traveler.  Especially  noteworthy,  in 
the  cathedral,  ar&  the  tombs  of  the  Emperor  Otho  I, 
and  of  his  Oueen  Editha,  crranddaughter  to  our  own 
King  Alfred  ;  also  a  fine  pulpit  of  alabaster,  and 
especially  a  monument  to  the  Archbishop  Ernest, 
wrought  in  bronze  by  Vischer  of  Nuremberg,  so  much  of  whose  work  we  had  seen 
in  his  own  city.  The  Rathhaus  is  also  interesting,  with  a  monument  in  front  to  the 
Emperor  Otho.      But  perhaps  the  most  significant  thing  in  all  Magdeburg  is  an 


v.tu.._i 


M}. 


{ 


FRAXKFURT,  AXD  LUTHER'S  COUNTRY. 


inscription  in  front  of  the  house  No.  164  in  the  Dreiteweg,  or  Broadway,  the  resid- 
ence of  the  betrayer  of  the  city  to  Tilly  :  "  Remember  the  ioth  May,  1631."  Such 
days,  indeed,  must  never  fade  from  tlie  memory  of  men  ;  not  that  thoughts  of 
vengeance  may  be  cherished,  but  that  due  warning  may  be  taken  against  the  in- 
fluences that  drew  the  sword  and  let  loose  the  furies  of  religious  rancor  in  that  most 
bitter  war. 

And  now  my  journey  was  well-nigh  done,  with  the  sense  of  much  unvisited,  yet 
with  a  wealth  of  pleasant  memories  and  happy  associations  with  the  great  Father- 
land. A  rapid  express  journey  led  to  Dusseldorf,  where  I  could  not  linger;  and  my 
last  halt  was  made  at  Aix-la-Chapelle,  chiefly  to  see  the  cathedral  erected  by  Charle- 
magne— most  striking  from  the  way  in  which  the  richest  and  lightest  of  fourteenth- 
century  Gothic  is  grafted  upon  the  somber  architecture  of  the  ninth.  The  nave  is 
a  lofty  building,  octagonal  within, 
though  the  exterior  has  double  the 
number  of  sides.  It  formed,  in 
fact,  the  "  chapelle "  after  which 
this  town  of  waters  was  named, 
and  was  built  upon  the  model  of 
the  Church  of  the  Holy  Sepulcher 
in  Jerusalem.  A  gallery  is  car- 
ried round  the  octagon,  faced  with 
circular  arches,  sustained  by  por- 
phyry pillars  brought  from  the 
Exarchs'  Palace  at  Ravenna. 
Some  of  these  columns,  as  erected 
here  by  Charlemagne,  have  been 
removed,  and  are  replaced  by 
modern  pillars  of  similar  form.  In 
the  side  of  the  gallery  facing  the 
choir  is  Charlemagne's  throne, 
prepared  not  for  the  living,  but 
for  the  dead  emperor.      Here  in  his 

tomb,  when  opened  by  the  Emperor  Otho  HI,  the  monarch  was  found  seated  "as 
one  alive,  bearing  the  scepter  in  his  hand,  and  on  his  knees  a  copy  of  the  Gospels. 
On  his  fleshless  brow  was  the  crown,  the  imperial  mantle  covered  his  shoulders,  the 
sword  Joyeuse  was  by  his  side,  ami  the  pilgrim's  pouch,  which  he  had  borne  always 
while  living,  was  still  fastened  to  his  girdle."  The  empty  throne  still  remains,  and  it 
is  not  difficult  to  the  imagination  to  fill  it  with  the  form  of  buried  majesty. 

Descending  again  to  the  nave  the  attention  is  struck  by  the  two  words  Carolo 
Magn'o,  engraved  on  a  marble  slab  in  the  center,  just  under  the  cupola  which  sur- 
mounts the  building.  Over  the  slab  hangs  a  large  circular  brass  chandelier,  the  gift 
of  the  Emperor  Frederick  Barbarossa.  The  whole  effect  of  the  somewhat  gloomy 
building  is  remarkably  impressive  ;  but  the  choir,  with  its  brilliancy  of  modern 
painted  glass,  tends  to  a  revulsion  of  feeling.  The  two  are  ill-matched,  nor  docs  the 
skill  with  which  the  exterior  parts  of  the  Dom  are  fitted  together  quite  remove  the 
incongruity. 

One  other  picture    from  Aix-la-Chapelle,  and   I   have  done.      It  was  yet  early 


magdehurg:  rathhaus  and  monumf.nt  to  otho  i. 


FRANKFURT,  AND  LUTHER'S  COUNTRY. 


\fter  noticing  the  few 


morning  when  I  visited  the  cathedral  ;  and  on  leaving  it, 
invalids  and  others  who  were  making  for  the  medicinal  springs,  or  seated  under  the 
portico  of  the  handsome  bath-house,  or  strolling  in  the  gardens,  my  attention  was 
caught  by  a  number  of  children  in  the  streets,  evidently  on  their  way  to  school,  with 


AIX-LA-CHAPELLE    CATHEDRAL  :     THRONE    OF    CHARLEMAGNE. 


their  little  book-knapsacks,  German-fashion,  upon  their  backs.  A  number  of  these 
boys  and  girls  were  entering  a  large  church  ;  I  followed  them,  and  found  myself  in 
presence  of  a  crowd  of  young  folks,  wiio  almost  filled  the  nave,  meekly  kneeling, 
boys  on  one  side,  girls  on  the  other.  Some  hundreds  of  them  were  reciting  a  prayer 
with  great  apparent  reverence  ;  they  afterward  joined  in  a  hymn,  the  music  of  which 
was  bright  and  joyous,  as  children's  praises  ought  to  be.  No  teacher  or  pastor 
seemed  to  be  with  them,  they  needed  no  keeping  in  order  ;  but  when  the  little  ser- 


FRAXKFURT,  AXD  LUTHER'S  COUNTRY. 

vice  was  over,  they  gayly  set  out  for  tlieir  different  schools.  What  it  meant  I  did  not 
fully  understand  ;  it  was  on  a  week  day,  the  calendar  indicated  no  Church  festival  ;  it 
seemed  a  spontaneous  beginning  of  ordinary  daily  work.  There  was  something  in. 
this,  I  am  not  ashamed  to  sa)',  more  touching  than  the  memories  awakened  in  that 
stately  cathedral.  One  deplored  the  narrow  and  imperfect  form  of  religion  in  which 
these  children  were  only  too  probably  being  nurtured,  and  \  et  it  was  good  to  see 
such  indication  that  young  Germany  was  learning,  in  any  measure,  to  sanctify  com- 
mon tasks  and  ordinary  life  by  praise  and  prayer. 


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